Distracted From The Finish Line

I want to work out in the yard and gardens today. I do. But this morning when I got up, my hands were itchy with some kind of a rash. It's the same rash I get every once in a while that I always attribute to an allergy to some kind of weed. Or it's just a simple eczema flare-up. Whatever it is, it is ITCHY and annoying, and putting a damper on my plans for today. I could wear garden gloves I suppose, but when my hands are already irritated, that makes it worse.

Let's move to Plan B:
1) Read something inspirational and motivational.
2) Drink coffee.
3) Assign chores for the day.
4) Do a load or two, or three, of laundry.
5) Paint in the basement room.
6) Plan lunch and supper.
7) Do charting from yesterday's home visits.
8) Scratch my hands. Or not.
9) Reorganize my sewing corner. Again.
10) Smile. Smile. Smile.
11) Exercise and update the food log.

Eleven things on my list for today(so far). Even if my plans change, I always have something to do. I am thankful that boredom is never an issue for me; I simply have too many hobbies and interests, not to mention, just work that needs done, to be bored. My to-do list could be eight pages long and I could probably still think of more to add.

My problem is distractions. I can make the list. I can have the best plans in my head when I go to bed, but come morning, the plan becomes unraveled. I start out okay, but then I see something that needs done that was not on "The List", and I do that instead. Even in the midst of that project I see something else and at the end of the day, I may have done a lot but nothing feels finished, and I feel like I haven't accomplished anything.

The Olympics are on and I have caught snatches of the various competitions. What really strikes me is their intense focus and determination. If I had half, or even a fourth, of that determination, I would be so much more effective.

My Olympic event would be the shot-put, except I would just keep spinning in a circle and forgetting to let go. Or the hurdles, which I would run to eagerly, but then stop short of actually getting over. Or the balance beam, except I would never really gain my balance.

You get the picture; I am not focused enough to achieve the goals I have, nor do I have the balance in my life to keep things running smoothly. At least, not much of the time.

I can get upset, or I can accept this is who I am, or I can change in the ways that I am able. The finish line is there; am I going to cross it? The choice is mine.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.


Whether it is conquering The List, visiting someone who needs a friend when you don't have time, spending time with your kids, helping someone with a project that wasn't your own, or whatever that it for you, we can be focused, determined, and able to cross the finish line. Even if I don't come in first, I will still have finished. 


Love,
Dianne