What if Olympians Procrastinated?

I LOVE the Olympics.

I’m a casual sports fan during the year but when the Winter and Summer Olympics come around I become obsessed. I watch as much coverage as possible, holding marathons each night to catch up on everything that happened during the day.

But it’s hard to put my finger on what I love the most. Maybe it’s the feeling of unity and national pride I feel every time an American does well, or the excitement of not knowing what each event will bring or perhaps the emotional stories behind some of the world’s greatest athletes.

But maybe most of all, I love the inspiration I feel to do something special and momentous myself. Many Olympic athletes sacrifice their childhoods and all of their free time to perfecting their sport and winning the elusive gold medal. Procrastination isn’t even a word in their vocabulary…because if it were then they’d never make it to the Olympics in the first place.

So if Shani Davis can coach himself all alone to win Olympic gold medals, then I should be able to motivate myself to do anything I want…right?

So This is What an Epiphany Feels Like

I can’t believe I hadn’t seen the connection before; it seems so obvious now! I put off things that seem like a challenge because of the fear that they won’t come out “perfect” or as I envisioned. Instead, I delay them in order to do the mindless tasks that I know how to accomplish easily and with little thought.

But I’m starting to realize that I’d rather be faced with the task of problem solving a challenging project than deal with the stress of procrastination. Because at the end of the day, I want that feeling of satisfaction and pride that I get after taking the leap of faith and seeing a challenging project through.

And that great feeling has always been my motivation to move on to the next project. But just like falling out of the habit of working out, it’s hard to get back on the wagon after getting lazy. So I’m going to siphon the inspiration from all the amazing Olympians that I’ve been watching all week and use it to fuel my motivation to put down the TV remote and accomplish something!

There is a week left of the Winter Olympics though, sooo there’s a slight chance that I’ll continue to siphon a little bit longer before I put down the TV remote. I mean the Olympics only come around once every four years!

Still a Work in Progress

Tonight marks the fourth day that I stayed home from work because of recent back-to-back snowstorms. Yet even with all that free time, I still managed to find plenty of things to do instead of starting the ‘big project’ that I’ve wanted to work on for months.

And the sad, very sad irony is that the main excuse I give for putting it off in the first place is lack of time. ARGH!!!

I know it’s only been a month since I started this journey to kill procrastination but I’m a perfectionist*, which means I set pretty high standards for myself. And frankly, I would have liked to seen more progress at this point.

Wait a second; I sense that I’m on to something. I think there might actually be a connection between my procrastination and my perfectionist tendencies.

Holy hell, I think I’ve just had an epiphany! Does this mean I’m growing as a person??

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* For all those wondering, yes I am a Virgo and a stereotypical one at that! I am loyal, super organized and prone to perfectionist tendencies.

I ♥ Snow Days

For all of those off from work today because of this weekend’s snowstorm – ENJOY!

And if you can be a little productive in between naps, well that’s cool too!

(Wo)Man In The Mirror

Today’s inspiration came from one of the world’s greatest performers, Michael Jackson. While watching his documentary “This Is It”, I felt the power of who he was as a person – kind, generous and innocent. It’s tragic that it took his passing for many of us to be reminded of his sincerity.

Below is an excerpt from “Man In The Mirror”, which I felt like I heard for the first time tonight. And if I could carry a tune, I would belt it out everyday to remind myself of what this journey is about:

. . . I'm Gonna Make A Change,

For Once In My Life

It's Gonna Feel Real Good,

Gonna Make A Difference

Gonna Make It Right . . .

I'm Starting With The Man In

The Mirror

I'm Asking Him To Change

His Ways

And No Message Could Have

Been Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World

A Better Place . . .

Take A Look At Yourself, And

Then Make A Change . . . i

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i Garrett, Siedah and Glen Ballard. Lyrics. “Man in the Mirror.” Bad. CD. Epic Records. 1987. Web. Retrieved on February 7, 2010 from www.lyricstime.com.

I Swear I’m Not a Religious Nut

Sometimes you come across a message that hits so close to home that you want to share it with everybody:

Today I ask myself: Am I doing what I love? If the answer is no, perhaps it is time to reevaluate why I am pursuing something that may be out of alignment with my heart's desires.

To discover my divine purpose, I turn within and see what lights my inner flame. As I consider different options, I feel an immediate surge of energy, creativity and excitement as I connect with my purpose and discover my true calling.

Perhaps I am hesitant to proceed for some reason. If this is the case, I take the matter directly to God in prayer. There is a way for me to follow my passion and fulfill my potential. The perfect path awaits if I have the courage to believe.i

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i Retrieved February 03, 2010 from DailyWord.com website: http://www.dailyword.com. The Daily Word is a publication featuring messages of hope. Disclaimer: I am in no way promoting any sort of religion, I am simply simply posting a message that I found inspiring and motivating.

The First Baby Steps are the Hardest, Especially in Ice Skates

One down – nine to go!

Even though the execution was far from spectacular, it was a glorious feeling to glide inch across the ice in my pair of rental skates this weekend.

You see it was a victory on more than one level. It’s been close to twenty years since I last laced up because I’ve always let my fear (of falling, hitting my head, my knee, any part of my body really) keep me away. But for the past few years, I’ve been hearing about the outdoor ice rink in the sculpture garden downtown and wanting to experience it firsthand. So I added it to my list of goals for this year, knowing that would be the motivation I needed.

So while this achievement may not seem like much to some people, it meant a lot to me. And even though I was probably not on the ice more than 15 minutes (thanks to the slowest moving line ever and impending dinner reservations) I felt great! I had overcome my fear, and ensuing procrastination, and accomplished a goal I had set for myself.

I may have white knuckled my way through it, but I’ll save letting go for the next time around.