Finding my keys

Each day holds new surprises for me.  I'm surprised when my mind is all for getting out of bed doing the daily stuff and getting down to some real productive business-building work, but my body dictates otherwise keeping me on the couch for half the day.  That was my yesterday. I've been fighting with sinus crud for months now and there are days it wins.  And as much as I love reading the departed optimist's writings about thinking positive and it will be positive, Norman Vincent Peale couldn't have helped me yesterday.

So before I went to sleep last night I determined today would be different. There had to be something that would help keep me off the couch even if I felt bad. But what was the key to motivating me beyond myself into something great for the day.  Yeah, yeah - Jesus. Start the day with prayer and the Word and everything with be just peachy - if you believe that then you don't actually read anything Jesus says.  Life's not easy - SIMPLE, not easy.  And I do that pretty much every morning, and yet still landed on the couch.  That was my choice.  So what is the key for me to not make that choice of caving in to the comfortable?

I don't know about you, but that key for me is music.  Since I have a roommate, I'm limited in how I can express it sometimes - LOUD mixed with crazy dancing, but that's what good headphones are for.  I have a playlist for every mood and every season. I have a playlist that represents ME.  What I believe in, how I express myself, what I aspire to, and it's those songs that I go to when I need re-energized.  It's like magic. It's as if God had those songwriters create those songs just for me.  That's my key to motivation and re-energization.  What's your key?



Gettin' Organized!

As part of my SIMPLIFYing 2011, I decided some organization was in order around my house and home office.  Most people think I am already highly organized, but I want to get to that easy-to-maintain organized, thus simplifying my life. However, I've had this huge realization hit me today. To clean-up you have to clean-out. 

Have you ever watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition? Every time they do a new home, the old one has to go - everything gets cleaned out for a fresh start. There's another show, "What Not To Wear."  Same concept - they have to clean-out the closet to clean-up the person's fashion, and sometimes their lives.  Alcoholics Anonymous' 4th step is: take a fearless & moral inventory of yourself.  This is the clean-out part of that process. 

The same holds true for our own selves.  We should regularly take a fearless and moral inventory of ourselves then decide what parts can stay, and what needs to be cleaned out.  That's the beauty of free will and power of choice. It's up to us to acknowledge awareness, accept what's there, decide what to keep and get rid of, then take action to do it. 

What would 2011 look like for you if you were to break cycles, clean-out negative thinking, find an accountability partner to check your progress, and ultimately clean-up your self?  Or even your closet? Or garage? Or something as small as a junk drawer?  It all starts with your mind - clean it out! 

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12:2)