Sometimes it seems like our butt is glued to the spot. It happens mostly in the winter months, but thankfully those are almost over now, Spring is here.
Everything is blooming and moving. The warm weather, the chirping of the birds in the morning and the bursting forth of daffodils tells us to GET UP!
So get up from your bed, your chair, your computer
Get out of that couch and get rid of that remote.
Hang up the phone. Get away from that break room table, or that armchair. There are things to be done.
Often we can see what we need to do, we dream about what we want to do, we make lists, plans and projects, but nothing gets done. WHY? Because we are static, sitting, stationary.
We need to GET UP.
Ok you got up from your bed, got out of your chair, and got away from the computer.
Now what?
GET GOING.
Just move in some direction, any direction. The muscles of the body need exercise, and exercise of the body sets the mind in the right direction as well. Just twenty five minutes of movement, whether stretching, walking, yoga or any other activity, gets the circulation going and the juices flowing. The mind begins to work as the body begins to move, and you get ideas about how to put your plans in action; and since your body, your arms, your legs are already in motion, there is no inertia to overcome.
You wanted to write that article? Here, grab a pen and paper and start.
You wanted to clean that bathroom? Then get all the scrubbing supplies and get down to it.
You wanted to go to the bank, the post office, the library, the beauty salon, the hardware store, the farmers' market, but it all seemed like too much from the cushions of your couch? Not so when you are on your feet and dressed and ready.
Whether you have some place to go or not, it always helps to be ready to go first thing in the morning. Showered, dressed and ready.
That usually takes care of the biggest stumbling block to getting chores done outside the house, and always puts you in an energetic and efficient frame of mind.
When I was a full time housewife and mother, I always wanted to do something other than the routine and housework and cooking. Something that would lift my spirit and feed my creative urge.
But a homemaker's work is never done, because she is right there 24/7, and there is always a chore or a task that begs for her attention. Each time I thought about sitting down to my writing or painting, I found myself doing the dishes or laundry first. Then there would be neither the time nor the energy to pick up pencil or brush. I needed to get away from the kitchen sink and the laundry room but couldn't physically do so as I had no outside office or studio.
I found a way around that. Each day at 9 am I dropped my toddler to the day-care and went back to pick her up at noon. If I pretended that I was reporting to work at an office where I was expected to turn in a piece of writing or art every day within those three hours, I could meet that deadline almost daily. In the three hours that she laughed and played with kids her age, I lost myself in developing the ideas and sketches that swirled in my mind.
When I got home to My Three Hours, I resisted the urge to change into comfortable home wear, and shut the door to the kitchen. This wasn't even freelance yet, but it had to be treated as professional. I had set aside a writing table in the spare bedroom, and I called it my office/studio.
For the next three hours I fiercely focused my mind. Beautiful things were created, poems, sketches, features or just plain ideas which could be developed later. I even submitted some of those pieces to the local newspaper.
You have to Get Going to Get Somewhere.
Now that you have got out, got going, what do you do and where do you go?
GET AHEAD.
Get ahead, every day. Build on what you have already done.
This article is not about getting ahead in the office, politics or the rat race.
This is about getting ahead in your life every day, in every way.
For each one of us Getting Ahead means something different. To the owner of a business, it is the bottom line, to a baby, it is his first step. To a student, it is upping a grade; to the homemaker it is running a household efficiently.
Once you have got moving, you try to race yourself to the finish line. There should always be a deadline to whatever you are doing. The Ultimate Inspiration is indeed the Deadline.
If you make a demand on your own energy and time, you will find that tasks get accomplished faster and better.
When you have met one deadline, you will start looking for another.
There is no pleasure like the completion of a project, however small, within the deadline set by you or by others.
"Move Forward! Get Ahead!" It's easy to say, and hard to do. But when it is broken into smaller tasks and challenges, it does not seem daunting.
Every day you have to set yourself a little goal, a little challenge. Making a To Do list every morning is the simplest form of this exercise.
To give my own example, I write a list of what I need to do and what I want to do. Of course the 'NEED TO'S" get done first. Then the WANT TO's come in line.
Every day I need to get up and go to work, look after the basic upkeep of my home, cook and clean. However there are many things I want to do too.
I may want to finish a painting, develop a sketch, write an outline, finish an article, make a mind map for a future project or organize my office, put away my art supplies, make those important phone calls, keep in touch with family and friends, Read That Book.
To me Getting Ahead is as simple as doing more than what I needed to do, doing at least two to three things from my Want To list.
Each one of us has a subconscious set of challenges and goals. Each one of us has a NEED TO and WANT TO list. Striking off all the daily Need To's, and accomplishing at least two to three of the Want To's makes one look forward to another day when we can Get Up, Get Going and Get Ahead!!
