MAMACADABRA

You know when you have one of those days in which…

A) You’ve heard something in the past few days on…oh I don’t know…Oprah‘s Life Class (wince) and you think about it but let it slip away, and then you read something completely unrelated and you suddenly realize it’s the most genius thought ever?  Even though it’s absolutely common sense and it might take an idiot not to “get it” the first time or know it intrinsically?

and/or

B) You go to work in the morning feeling like your coming down with something, deteriorate throughout the day at light speed, and by 4pm your nose looks like you either indulged in something a little too much or like you’re trying to mimic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in business attire?

Yes…well I’ve had one of THOSE days in which both A and B apply.  Also…I’m a little delirious with this wicked head cold…so keep that in mind as you read on.

I got home tonight and told my husband that I was pretty sure it was the end and that I was dying.  He told me to take a decongestant…cocky bastard…and surprisingly it worked wonders.  My initial hopes of crawling into bed for the night dissolved as my throat stopped pulsing, my ears stopped ringing, and my sinuses stopped stabbing me in the face.  Despite feeling like sh-t I had a remarkably productive day at work.  I got through a list I’d been meaning to tackle for a couple of weeks but hadn’t had the time.  It seemed like such a shame to go straight to bed when I got home so I was glad the drugs worked.

Let me tell you why.

Something I heard yesterday, after I had gotten sucked into Oprah but was about to turn it off, was that when you’re stuck you aren’t moving.  Today I read an article about some of the principles of Benjamin Franklin and many of them were about motion.  Moving.  Action.  All of which are the opposite of stuck.  I read this article, and remembered what I’d heard on…ahem…Oprah, and it was like the best thing I’d ever discovered.  An epiphany!  Genius!

I’ve mentioned my head is literally in a different universe, right?  I can’t imagine I’m THIS stupid.

So what you’re telling me Oprah, Tony Robbins, and Benjamin Franklin, is that if and when I’m feeling stuck I need to just move?  Act?  Do?

After I decided not to go straight to bed I worked on homework with the little girls, got us all fed, and then decided to walk.  I had planned to skip working out today because I felt so sh-tty but it was gorgeous and the dog was antsy.  I started out slow but soon picked up my pace.  This whole idea about just getting my arse into gear is totally inspiring and invigorating.  I made it once around the circle in my neighborhood and had made pretty good time.  I didn’t feel too bad so we did it again.  I felt better on that walk than I had all day, certainly better than I would have if I’d gotten into bed, and now I won’t feel guilty about missing a day.

When I got home I jotted a list of a few things I wanted to get done tonight and have already completed nearly all of them.  I’m not more tired than I would be if I’d just sat down on the couch for the night several hours ago, instead I’m completely energized.  I don’t feel more sick than I would if I’d gone to bed, I feel just as sick as I did before, but I feel like I’ve accomplished something.

I know I’ve talked about this crippling fear of failure I have.  And that sometimes I get paralyzed.  Well what if what I should be doing when scared, or stuck, or worried, is just keep.  Moving.  Stay focused on the things I’m able to actually control.  Or, as my husband often says, keep my eye on the prize.

It almost seems too easy…and too brilliant…all at the same time.  But that could be the drugs talking.  And by drugs I mean Advil Cold and Sinus.

TODAY:  What if when I start to feel “stuck” I do everything in my power to stay in motion, keep moving, take action, and do?