I remember the TV commercial for tootsie pops with the owl. “How many licks does it take to get to the soft center … one, two, three, crunch … it takes three licks.” I was in Washington, D.C. this week for an AHA Board meeting. There is always hard candy on the tables and I have never been one to suck on a hard candy until it’s gone. I chewed it, loudly in front of all the leaders in healthcare. (Once, I was sucking on a sugar free candy and I bit down on it and my teeth stuck together for a couple of hours. It was truly horrifying.) I’m planning on stopping hard candy altogether.
My list of things that I need to stop doing (like chewing hard candy) is getting longer daily. I’m thinking that as I age I need to be more deliberate (lists) and less disorganized (mess). To be awake and aware is a beautiful gift and one that pays dividends. This might sound a tad bit specific, but doing things like making your bed* before you leave the house or putting away your clothes in a hotel room or doing the dishes consistently helps you focus on what is important in life. My coach calls these “tolerations”. If I dealt with all my tolerations (cleaning the desk in my house, and all my closets, and garage and … etc.) I would feel so clear and potentially get more done.
I watch the show “Extreme Hoarders”. These people didn’t start out in life thinking “I’ll be a hoarder”, but it happened because the allowed the tolerations to build up. I’m not suggesting that by not making your bed you’ll end up a hoarder, but if we are deliberate and organized with our activities, we potentially will be happier. I think for the next year I’m going to start making lists of things that need to change (the desk thing is a real issue) and start working on them. This time next year I will be so “woke” I won’t know what to do.
*Lots of discussion on this – it’s a personal thing, but future “Steve” appreciates a made bed. It feels like a hotel and I like that.
