A topic close to my heart and some encouragement for friends who are dreading all the New Year's resolutions posts on IG and FB.
The topic of goals comes up a lot in conversations with my friends. But it’s disguised as “I should” or “I need to.” I need to be healthier, I should read more, I should be a better friend, and so on. We say it with a sense of urgency in the moment but it’s easy to put off. Then we're frustrated because we aren’t making progress on the things we say are important to us.
What if we took a small, practical step this very moment? Drink a glass of water. Bring a book to bed rather than turning on the TV. Send a quick text now instead of waiting to make a 2-hour phone call.
It sounds so unglamorous and much less fun than a trip to the store for organic produce or buying a new healthy cookbook, spending hours on a want-to-read list, or waiting until our house is perfect to host an impressive gathering.
I struggle with attentiveness in the moment (oh! a text! oh! I’m hungry! oh! I forgot to…) and often have to say out loud to myself, “Do what’s in front of you, do what’s in front of you, do what’s in front of you.” With two little guys, I walk by messes all day. I’ve started to focus only on the mess right in front of my face; that has a snowball effect throughout my day, and my house gets much cleaner than if I would have kept saying “I need to clean, I need to clean” while walking by the toys, dishes, laundry, and dirty diapers.
What two or three things are important to you, important enough to change the “I should” to “I want to” and what can you do RIGHT NOW to give it some momentum?
P.S. You might be saying "I should" about things you actually shouldn't do. I've been saying "I should grow a garden" for years but it's out of obligation and envy. Truth is, I love a good homegrown plant and it might happen someday, but I can think of five other things I want more than that.