Monday, January 28, 2008

motivation

I know that I have fallen away from my blog. I have no real excuse, except that I'm feeling very blah these days. I think of things to post, but then just don't do it. Art says it's because I'm too picky and maybe he's right. I "think" so much about a task until it's just too much work and I'm tired before I start. I claim that I'm busy, but sometimes I have to ask myself "with what?". I do an awful lot of thinking and not a whole lot of doing.

Of course, being in a slump begets being in a slump. Part of it has to do with no money and a huge debt burden, part of it has to do with allowing myself to change from an athlete to an overweight couch potatoe. And the longer that goes on the worse it gets.

So, we sold our house. Even though that will solve our debt problem I am still very sad. Letting go is not something that I do very well, so I've been reading on the subject. I really like this piece I found on http://www.lifehack.org/.


"......moving forward always means leaving something behind; often something you don’t much want to let go. I frequently meet people who tell me they are on the edge of some great endeavor. Yet they never get started, because they’re waiting: waiting to finish something they’re involved in; waiting to feel sufficiently secure to take the risk; waiting until their children are grown, or their spouse doesn’t need to travel so much; waiting for enough savings to hold onto; waiting for the right time.

There isn’t a right time. There’s now, there’s sometime, and there’s never. Any time you start to think about starting, there will inevitably be something in your way: something important you don’t want to give up . It’s human to want to have it all: the exciting job; being a terrific parent; becoming a leading light in the community; and writing the Great American/Australian/British/Canadian Novel at the same time. Get a grip, my friend. It’s not possible. Choices will always require you to leave other options behind, probably for ever.

A good part of the skill of living is the willingness to let things go without regret. Choose what seems best, acknowledge what you may have to give up to obtain it, and get on with your life. Don’t look back. Not now, not ever. Banish thoughts about what might have been. It wasn’t. Besides, whatever you imagine would have happened is virtually certain to be wrong. People usually believe the roads they didn’t take would have been better than the ones they did. It’s just as likely those roads would have been far worse; or more or less the same.

Above all, don’t join in the national pastime of synchronized whining about the difficulties preventing you from doing what you really want. Either get on with it, if you truly want to, paying the price it demands and enjoying whatever you achieve; or shut up and accept you aren’t willing to pay, so you can’t have the goods. You cannot have it all. Get used to it."

I like it a lot. The writer is Adrian Savage, an English author and retired business executive who lives in Tucson, Arizona. For the next little while I am adopting his mantra....

"It’s not what you plan to do that comes first, it’s what you’re willing to give up to make time and space to do it."

3 comments:

Way Out Wear said...

Very good quotes, but I think you have found your answer. You're lucky, you've identified your problem! Some people never do. Now, remember don't spend too much time "sharpening the axe" and not enough time "chopping the wood"
We are human BEINGS - so go be and do (I have to remind myself of that sometimes too)..... lots of hugs and encouragement for you! You can do it! Start now!
wishing you the best....

Anonymous said...

I love the quote. He's totally right... (I say as I sit here reading your blog avoiding a huge project that has the potential to launch me to the "next greatest thing"). The house meant alot to you, not just the physical structure but what it represented to you and Dad. It also continues to house people you care about and the sale has impacts there too. They say home is where the heart is and I think your heart has been in two "homes" at once.

Luv ya.

Carol Browne said...

We were lucky be the ones that lived in your place for as long as we did. I think it's time for us to push forward as well. It's going to work out just fine.