Hi friends! I’m back, finally.
I’ve been struggling to find the motivation to write lately, but thanks to an uplifting podcast and a freshly cleaned home I suddenly got struck with a wave of creativity. As most people who have artistic tendencies know, creativity comes in waves or seasons. You’re either consumed by it or completely unmotivated. I’m still working on finding a steady, consistent, happy medium.
Now that I’m back at it, I want to share a mindset shift that has increased my productivity and lessened my anxiety/depression.
I am a natural born procrastinator. The more necessary and important something is, the more I avoid it at all costs. Type A people: I am your worst nightmare. Just the thought of a task that either stresses me out or that I just plain don’t want to do literally sends me into a numb, shut down state that makes me want to run in the other direction.
Out of necessity, as I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten better at forcing myself to do the thing (whatever that thing may be) that I don’t want to do. It hasn’t been easy and I’m still working hard at strengthening my self discipline in several areas, but I can feel the hard work paying off.
I fiercely believe that having honest conversations with ourselves about our weaknesses brings out humility and strength. Only when I stopped replying with “I know” to every piece of advice that was given to me did the true self improvement begin.
Mamas, I know you can relate to me when I say that being quarantined for months has showed me that being at work all day prevents messes. Being home 24/7 means endless dishes, laundry, and clutter. The more time spent at home the more we have to clean. I don’t know about you guys, but when the house is a mess it makes me depressed, and I don’t have the luxury of succumbing to my depression these days. I have a little boy that needs a happy mama and an organized, clean environment to grow up in.
I’m proud to say that, for the most part, my house has stayed clean. How, you ask? Simple:
+ The thought of how good it feels to have a clean house outweighs the thought of how bad it feels to look around and see a mess.
Simple, I know. But really think about it: how do you feel when you wake up, go into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and see a mess? Dishes are in the sink, crumbs are on the counter, and the Keurig is a mess. It sets the tone for a terrible day.
Now, close your eyes and imagine the feeling you get when you wake up, walk into the kitchen and everything is sparkling clean. You have the Keurig loaded and ready to go. That is what I want to wake up to. That type of thought instantly gets me moving.
For those of you who are incredibly disciplined and mentally stable, you’re probably thinking “Isn’t that obvious?”
Yes.
But for those of us who are anxious, kinda lazy, or just have a tendency to procrastinate, this mindset shift is everything. Now, every single time I need to vacuum, clean the kitchen, fold the laundry, or make the bed in the morning, I do it. Not because I know I should or because I hate the mess but because I take a second to actually close my eyes and envision how it will feel to have a clean home. There is so much power in focusing on the positive in a literal sense rather than the negative.
If we take this logic and apply it to everything in life, it will eliminate almost all of our problems. We are our own worst enemy and we owe it to ourselves to fight our toxic habits and create new ones. We owe it to ourselves to reach our potential.
If this helps even one of you it will make me so happy.
And if you think from this post I’m insinuating that I have it all together, don’t worry. I’m still a shitshow.
Remember, we’re all mad here.
Xx
Tanner
