I tend to get a little reflective when I am injured. No, not like the stripes on your adidas running jacket are reflective.... I mean I get a bit introspective. For me a lack of exercise seems to deprive the brain of some sort of chemical, resulting in various odd/unpleasant emotions and magnified personal idiosyncrasies. Occasionally it results in self-help style productivity, sometimes self-loathing (it's a fine line). Budding Dr. Phil's out there feel free to explain this... I googled it but wasted too much time trying to find the explanation.
I have spent much of today "taking stock". In the old days it would have been words scrawled on a pad of paper under headings like: PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL, FAMILY, etc. These days who can find a pad of paper.... I sit in front of the computer sorting out the good, the bad and the ugly in my life. Make sure you don't hit "send" if you use your e-mail program for this...
It goes well beyond the scope of this blog (and my comfort) to get into the details. I feel lucky that "the good" outnumbers "the bad", and that there are almost no "ugly". Like most, I am working hard and doing well in some areas, and I need to pull up my socks in others. When I look at the pixels on the screen and sum it all up things are pretty good.
But just as the road rash on my ass is not a 'real' injury, is this a real indication of how I am doing? Somehow, I don't think so. I am disappointed that some of the same things sit on the "bad" list year after year for as long as I can remember. Giving myself a B+ overall really just provides a convenient excuse to do nothing.
I reorganize the document. Waste 5 minutes remembering how to make two columns in Word... NEEDS ATTENTION and GOOD JOB. Nice... this looks good. The GOOD JOB column is nice and long... It crosses my mind that the items on the GOOD JOB side are really just self-congratulatory crap that makes the list because I want to feel good while going through this unpleasant exercise.
Let's get tough and delete the GOOD JOB column.... I pat myself on the back first. Nice job - MJ. Now I can focus on the NEEDS ATTENTION column, oh wait, there's my e-mail, let's check that...
Where was I? The NA column. Still needing attention. I need a bit of inspiration to pump me up to tackle these things.... Fire up wisdomquotes.com - that'll be just the thing to get me going. God, I hate this stuff...
When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers. - Colleen C. Barrett
Hallelujah, Colleen! Couldn't agree more. I need to channel my inner bricklayer for this NA column. Kill the architect within! I have been all lights and camera - now I need action! (Saw that one on the page too.... wish I could say I made it up...)
Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. - Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma, you are correct sir! Let's face it, with this list of stuff I am bad at, whatever I do will likely be pretty insignificant (usually I do next to nothing about these things) but, I better do it this time. (That's the "wisdom" part of the quote for those of you scoring at home...)
One more....
I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I'm all out of bubble gum. - Rowdy Roddie Piper from a very forgettable movie.
No offense to Gandhi or the other lady, but Piper hits the nail on the head here. If I want to see a shorter list the next time I find myself laid up and "taking stock" I better kick a little ass!
The first step is admitting you have a problem. That's where this post comes in.... As it turns out I won't admit exactly what my problems are to you, but I am admitting I have some. That will have to do. Don't worry I am not an alcoholic, or a drug addict or grow-op technician. Just a guy with a list of things that NEED ATTENTION.
Why is it that everyone knows the first step but nobody knows the second step? That's a question I'd like to pose to the "Step" people... What gives with focusing all the publicity on step 1? In the state I'm in researching that could be reason for me to waste another fifteen minutes on Google.
No. Time to focus. Goals. Goals have been the backbone of every success I have had in life with the exception of my children being attractive which was luck - and my wife's genes. I'll make goals, just like I do with my running, cycling, swimming, skiing etc. Make a goal, train, execute. Simple.
Are goals likely to get it done? Do people lose weight when they make New Year's Resolutions? I fear that making a goal really isn't the answer - only part of it. I shiver when I realize that the answer has been in front of me the whole time. My own digital script no less.... NEEDS ATTENTION - right there in all caps, Arial, size 12. Attention = time, effort, diligence, perseverance. Damn. I was hoping Google or wisdomquotes might sort these issues out for me.
Stock taken.
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