Give Up? Or Keep on Going?

It’s a few games into the season. Some teams have yet to win a game. Players on these teams are less and less confident in their skills and abilities. And it shows in their playing. Coaches wonder if they should throw up their hands and begin to plan for the next year. Fans are disgruntled. One year, New Orleans Saints fans wore brown paper bags over their heads in protest for their teams’ poor playing.

But there are some players on these teams who can see the end result. They have a mental picture of their team playing as a unit. Going on to play better and better. Inspiring others and leaving the negative behind. Sometimes it takes a vision to see the next step, to create synergy between players. They live in an unstuck world.

When I start a new venture, from time to time I get stuck. Case in point was this morning. I was sound asleep, enjoying an intriguing dream when the alarm went off. I bounced out of bed, zipped over to the bathroom to turn it off (I know better than to put it on the nightstand next to me) and hopped back into bed. As I snuggled down in comfort, “those” thoughts started in. The chatter goes something like this: you will be off kilter for the day, you know how good you feel after your walk, the Duff really needs his exercise. On and on it goes. And once I lay low one day, it’s easy to skip the next and the next. The avalanche has begun.

After 5-6 minutes, I rolled out of bed. I decided my mind was right: I would feel better, the Duff did need a walk and the schedule for the day would be askew if I didn’t get moving. Then I remembered how much I revel in the morning, with the fresh breeze against my face and the beauty of our outstanding Arizona sunrises. The leaves are changing in the so many glorious colors of autumn. Don’t want to miss that. So much easier to see the payoff and move in that direction. No longer stuck in the “I don’t want to’s” or “I’m not up to it today.” Choices are free. And I made mine. I didn’t get stuck. How about you?