Inspiration for Your Week

So much of the typical day-to-day requires you to do things you have to do, things that are not necessarily what you want to be doing. But let's be honest here...if we did what we wanted all day long and approached every day like a vacation day, would we get anything accomplished? (Nope.)

Instead of looking at your workload as something you do just because you're supposed to (that frustrating answer your parents gave you when you asked "why?" for the fourteenth consecutive time), let's acknowledge some of the true reasons that allow that ability (to make yourself do the thing you have to do) to feel satisfying and, well, worth it.

1. Remember the positive results you are seeking and the reasons behind your tasks at hand. For example, you work for at least one of five reasons -- $, to learn, enjoyment, to help others, to advance your career. Focus your attention on that. (If you can't identify with any of those goals, then you need to find a new job.)
2. Make lists. Start every day with a to-do list of things you want to get done that day. Do the things that are hardest first. Finish each day with a to-do list of things you didn't get done and you need to carry over to the next day. And when you complete a task? Cross that sucker off the list. (It feels oh-so-good.)
3. Reward yourself. Work your butt off and then take a vacation, reach a big fitness goal and treat yourself to the new sneakers you've been eyeing, and ultimately? ...reach a place where the outcome of your work is a reward in itself.

...

I also realize that this idea goes beyond the day-to-day and that there are events in life that involve you doing/acting in ways which require you to be the bigger person, not just compared to others, but to yourself. We haveta show up in every way possible and do things when they ought to be done to the best of our ability - and as the above quote suggests, we do them whether we like it or not. So yes, we do them because we're supposed to. "Why?!?", we ask. The real answer lies within our individual values. But often, it's because it's right. We must do, act, make, give, contribute, and work. And we must reflect on and remember why, even if in certain situations it's not as easy to pinpoint.

P.S.  As a sidenote? One of the biggest ironies in life is that if you give more than you take, you actually walk away with more. Here is a text message exchange I had today with someone in my life who epitomizes that very notion.

 I'll admit, I teared up when I read what they did.

It's what made me realize that the whole, "make yourself do...when it ought to be done" thing goes far beyond our workload. 

I hope everyone had a fabulous Monday.

...and may one or both interpretations of the quote be a little inspiration for your week.

until next time,

g