Breathe in the Cold Air, Take Action!

I woke up a couple days ago and said to myself, “That was a terrible sleep.” This set the tone for the first part of my morning. This thinking lets me off the hook; x, y and z do not get done. I don't feel good about my day and end up blaming it on sleep. Upon reflection this is a pattern I let myself fall into. It's an excuse. A bad sleep (we all have them) does not have to equal a bad day.

I dropped my daughter off at school and on the way home had a conscious look around. It was an effing cold winter morning in Calgary. Inhaling the cold crisp air when I got out of the car made my nose wrinkle but woke me up while standing on the driveway. It brought clarity and focus in that moment. The sun was shining and although it was cold it was a beautiful morning. I thought to myself I can choose to change the course of my day and I will. I can be productive and move myself toward my goals. I’ll be tired but that is ok. I gave myself permission take breaks and rest when I needed to. At the end of the day I had accomplished some of my daily goals even with breaks and rest in between. It felt good to even take small action because in the end it's progress. Had I chose to focus on the "terrible sleep" all day I would not have made any progress and the cycle would continue. Don't get me wrong there will be days that are going to be awful that we have to slog to get through but maybe a slight mind shift will get us that little bit closer to the goal and in turn give us the motivation to keep going.

This is a process that's not perfect and I will definitely falter along the way. As long as I am conscious of my choices and celebrate the moments of fresh air up my nose (clarity) I will be motivated to continue on a path of growth. A simple shift in my thinking, a conscious break in a pattern led me to a good day rather than just a tired day.

Ultimately in my world I’m learning it comes down to quieting the inner voice and making a choice. I choose how I react to the world and who I am.

Tim Fargo said, “What you choose today will determine who you are tomorrow.”

What will you choose today? I choose me! I choose action (even when it seems small)!

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