Blog Archives
Procrastination
PROCRASTINATION is a foible that we are all guilty of at one time or another… some experience it more than others.
Items of unfinished business that are laying around create disorder, and that causes PROCRASTINATION. As one envelope invites you to put more there…so does a chaotic environment procreate itself ad infinitum ad nauseum.
One element of procrastination that generates chaos is a lack of organization…a pile of anything, be it paperwork, clothes, or something else. If one has not used the idea of “a place for everything and everything in its place,” piles of stuff accumulate. A pile is just an invitation to procrastination. A lack of prioritizing also contributes to it.
Putting first things first sounds simple and uncomplicated…until you take a look around at your surroundings. Most of us live in a state of unfinished business…a project not quite done in one place; dirty clothes that have not yet made the wash basket; a hat here, a glove or two there; unopened mail where one put it, still lying in a stack a couple of days later.
Sometimes we overburden ourselves with expectations. We surround ourselves with disorganization that makes it looks insurmountable, so why even start?
Every single item on a To Do List actually holds a piece of your energy. Just looking at it will not release that energy. It must be completed to free the mind and energize the soul so one can do something else.
When I find myself procrastinating, I purposely choose ONE THING and BEGIN to accomplish it. Synergy then gives me the ability to continue on with my day, doing whatever it is that I choose to do.
One of my simple organization methods is: “Try to handle something only once.” If it is in your hand, make a quick decision to “put it in its place.” If it is dirty clothes, put them in the wash basket immediately and decide to not just dump them wherever. If it is unopened mail, determine what is junk mail, ready for recycling; open real mail and sort it…put bills with the bills and the rest into a suspense area to be dealt with later. Dirty dishes can get rinsed off as soon as you are done eating as food dries quickly and makes it even harder to get off…put them in the dishwasher OR get them washed, dried, and put away.
If you are already living a state of unfinished business, pick one room or area. Begin to take care of the problem. Prioritize, put stuff away, and simplify your life. Soften your viewpoint and focus it on a smaller goal that you can achieve. Break a pile into its parts and handle each one individually. With enough consistency, you can see the piles shrink before your very eyes.
Unfortunately, we do not have a Mary Poppins in our lives to put things in order. The clothes do not hang themselves up, and toys do not jump into the toy box.
Habits are difficult to change. They are created by continually making bad choices. They remain because we do not consciously make a decision to change our actions.
So, how about you? Do you want to continue to beat yourself up for your Procrastination? Do you really want to put out the effort to change? If you do, write it down. It begins there. Then pick an area to begin and decide to get moving. Are you willing? If you do, you may find your breakthrough!
Try to remember: God created Divine Order and Harmony in your mind as a natural state of being, bringing Peace to your Soul. This happens when you create order from disorder in your environment. All you have to do is look at a waterfall, a rainbow, beautiful flowers, an osprey in flight, or a lovely landscape to understand this Truth.
Best wishes as you begin to change. Enjoy your day! 🙂
Bridal Veil Falls, Idaho Springs, CO
Rainbow Signifying Peace
Beautiful Flowers
Osprey in Flight
Mt Evans, Front Range, CO
Life Is A Journey
It’s been said frequently that Life Is A Journey and Not a Destination.
How many times have you thought, “If I could just (you name it), I will have arrived.” You could put in, “Be debt free,” or “Be able to buy (that beautiful dress, fancy watch, expensive hand bag or shoes). Then people will notice how well I am doing. I will have arrived.” Every advertisement is directed at this attitude, whether it is whitening your teeth or buying any product. Please note the emphasis on arrived. Does that not, in itself, connotate a Destination?
Is the acquisition of “stuff” on your high priority list? How about buying a new home or car? Some people in the rarefied atmosphere want a new personal jet and a longer landing field. So you work day and night toward getting the “stuff” and then paying for it, be it a loan or a credit card. What price are you actually paying for it?
Are you working so hard that you have little time to spend with loved ones, and, even when you are with them, are you still fussing about some problem at work that you cannot resolve? That is time you never get back. I’ve heard a suggestion that I use: When you are traveling home, you mentally encapsulate the day and park it into a Box labeled “To Be Resolved,” or “Unfinished Business.” You then look at something in your immediate surroundings so you can really see where you are at that moment. By the time you are home, you can truly greet your loved ones (be it a person, cat, dog, bird, whatever) and enjoy your evening more because your attention is not being fractured by some problem from work that you can do nothing about at that moment. Focus is the issue here.
Are you working so many hours that you are not taking good care of your body by eating good, healthy food and exercising properly so you will stay strong? Or are you grabbing fast food and gulping/chugging it down as soon as you leave the drive up window? You know it is high fat and will drive up your cholesterol and weight in the long run. You can tell yourself that it may happen sometime in the future and maybe not, and certainly not to you. It is amazing what lies we can tell ourselves to justify our poor decisions, and then believe them… 😦
Are your stress levels so high that you feel like you must smoke or eat chocolate or carbohydrates (sweets) to calm yourself down? Yet you may tell me you have no time to learn yoga, breathe correctly, meditate for a few minutes to calm the mind and body, or exercise. Do you know that the first sign of stress is the inability to breathe deeply? That shortens the oxygen available to your muscles and body to function. It creates aches and pains as well, headaches, tight muscles which can injure easily, etc. Is it worth it to you to find a different way to handle stress, and then do it?
Do you see a pattern here?
Life and choices come to us one moment at a time. Some choices never happen again because the consequences of that choice eliminates possibilities that would have been an option. Are you giving your attention to the price you are paying daily and what the coin is? (The coin is health, happiness, exercise, eating right, etc.) Is it worth it to you?
If Life Is A Journey and NOT a Destination, are you willing to take a serious look at your priorities so you can enjoy your Journey more?
Priority? What Priority?
Expand Your Comfort Zones
Stick your Necks Out!
We all get caught up in our daily routines. It is familiar and most comfortable, like a pair of good slippers.
I would like to suggest that daily routines and comfort zones can also become a fence or a wall. Perhaps we might long for an adventure, but we never begin to plan one.
When was the last time you checked the cost of airfare to Hawaii? What deals are out there? Or perhaps it is to take a cruise or a trip to Disney World or Universal Studios. So many plan to do these as a dream, but it is always somewhere in the distant future…and certainly not now. Rationale then kicks in with: “That is too expensive. I don’t have the money.” You talk yourself out of it before you ever begin.
Do you work so hard at your life that there is no room for possibilities? Every day, year in and year out, is full to the brim with all of your lists of things to be done and must do.
It is said that the way to begin saving is to pay yourself first, even if it is only $5 – put it in a special account so that you can stop feeling like you do not have enough money to do anything.After enough time and consistent saving of even small amounts, you might be surprised at how much it could amount to. Dreams become possible one payday at a time.
Do you have a place in your wallet or purse for a “Hold Card“…be it $5, $10, or whatever? The thought behind abundance is this: You look at something you would like to have, but you automatically think that you do not have the money for it, no matter how small a thing it is. (Like a nice Starbucks for a change of pace.) Yet, if you have a hold card, you could decide to use it for that object. Or not. (How bad do I want that Starbucks? Do I want to use my Hold Card? I know I can replace my Hold Card on Payday.) But it then becomes a choice instead of an automatic reaction. You are breaking the chain that has held you in place for so long.
My point is that we get so set into our comfort zones that we never “stick our necks out!” Like the turtles above, we can look at our routines and decide if they are a fence or a wall. Analyzing our daily lives can bring to light other possibilities that we have not examined before.
Are you willing to “stick your neck out?”
“Good Morning, God!” or “Good God, It’s Morning!” ?
What is my attitude when I open my eyes for the first time each day?
Is it a Good Morning?
This picture of a little chickadee is in my bathroom, asking me that very question.
Attitude affects and effects perspective, always. AFFECT is defined as influence; produce a change in; to move or stir the emotions. EFFECT is defined as the power or ability to bring about results. PERSPECTIVE is defined as a specific point of view in understanding or judging things or events, especially one that shows them in their true relations to one another.
You may ask me why this is important. The answer is a simple one: How we view our world and interact with it begins with the second we open our eyes. Our first waking thoughts “set our sails” and will determine our journey for the day..the winds that come, as they always do, will catch those sails and blow us completely off our intended course unless we first set them properly and then adjust them as needed.
Is your world a fright-filled one where you have to turn on the morning news to get your first dose of negativity or pick up your newspaper to do the same? Or do you get a fresh cup of coffee and sit down out on the patio to quietly greet the day? All of your first actions in the morning will influence the rest of your day.
You control your reactions to what happens to you by starting to make small changes in your schedule to accommodate new beginnings. Are you willing to take that tiny amount of time to make a difference in your life?
Daily Resolutions vs. New Year’s Resolutions
Newspapers and magazines are filled with articles this time of year about New Year’s Resolutions. Many people make magnificent resolutions that, if carried out, would make a big difference in their lives. Some even take action to make those resolutions come true: They buy a gym membership to be more healthy; they buy a book on “How To…” with the express intent of achieving their goal; they buy exercise equipment; they buy Stop Smoking patches or remedies. Then daily life takes over. Time crunches arrive. Decision time: “Do I take the effort to keep my resolution or do I not?” “I’m tired.” “It’s late.” “I’ve had a hard day.” “I’m so stressed out that I need a cigarette to calm me down.” Almost any excuse becomes a reason to delay working on the resolution. What seemed marvelous as an ideal soon loses its glamour when faced with the price tag attached…and there is always a price tag attached, whether it can be seen or not. Perhaps we like to create mountains that we think we can climb, imagining ourselves overcoming obstacles and ending up victorious. Then, when the energy ebbs away from the initial resolution, disillusionment settles in, accompanied by a feeling of some degree of failure most of the time.
What if, in lieu of sweeping, substantial resolutions, you begin by making a bargain with yourself: Make a simple Daily Resolution that would, if carried out consistently, begin to make a change you can live with and actually achieve? Small steps represent choices you can make. Taken collectively and over time, you can, indeed, create possibilities in your life that could bring you gifts of all kinds…intangibles including joy, peace, laughter, wisdom, understanding, as well as tangible results that are measurable such as the loss of a pound or two, or you actually cut down on the number of cigarettes you smoked that day, or you exercised by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or you signed up for a yoga class and really enjoyed doing it so you kept at it. No choice is too small to matter. Begin with where you are today and look for a possible step that will take you in the right direction.
It has been asked, How do you eat an elephant? Answer, one bite at a time. So, are you willing to make the effort to make a simple Daily Resolution? Your future is in your capable hands, today.
Whatever this New Year holds for you, may you be blessed with your highest good and an abundance of Life expressing through you as you.
Colorado Mountain
Thoughts and Feelings
I often ask myself, “What do I choose to be today: bud, blossom, or withered stem?
The thoughts and feelings I dwell on will determine my choice:
The bud is my tomorrow…
The withered stem is my yesterday…
The blossom is NOW — this moment.
The choices I make today will determine what buds are made tomorrow.
Out of the cocoon of my yesterdays
comes what is happening today.
Today, I can choose once again to be reborn
into a new sense of awareness.
Again, I ask myself, “What will I choose?”
What do you want to choose?
Would you rather cling to those withered stems,
refusing to let go because of some worth you attached to them?
Could they ever again produce a bud or blossom?
Not likely.
Remember the good those stems once brought to you,
and choose to begin today to look for buds and blossoms.
They are all around you, if you but look.
They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes.
Widen your horizons and focus!
upliftingthoughts4u 