Good Morning: What were you doing at 4:30 AM?

 


We live in a time when we feel we don't have much control over our lives.  We can't change the weather.  Can't change the electors, can't change managers.

I spend, possibly too much energy, focusing on things I do control so I can respond to those things I don't and surprises. 

Here are a few things I remind myself, and you may also want to consider:

1) I control what pictures I post on Facebook, Instagram, or any site or text.  If I don't like a picture of myself, I don't share it.  If it makes me look old, sad, or mad, or the few hairs I have are a mess, I choose to share or delete.

Why? Because these pictures have a long, long life.  How often do I see a suggestion from Facebook or Google about pictures in my past that are memories I wish were forgotten?

2) I control what I eat.  Sometimes this is good for me, and sometimes it is not.  The Kroger here some days puts out individual donuts in the case, and sometimes not, quite unpredictable.  For a while, I thought, if it is in the case, why not?  What harm can one donut do?  

The honest answer is obvious, I didn't need the extra calories, and how many laps around the store will I need to burn those calories away?

3) I control what and when I do things in the morning.  I am truly a morning person.  I don't want to talk to others, but I like being up with the sunrise.  I am energized, and I even like that I know most people I work with may not be up yet, so I can just breathe and hopefully get some exercise.

If I choose to get up and go for my daily walk, I am much happier than when I don't.  These walks tend to be two hours, but they give me the baseline I need to understand my day ahead. 

4) I know seems obvious from above, but I try to control when I wake up.  OK, this is a bit of a stretch with a dog and a cat,  but I do try and get up pretty consistently at the same time of my choice.  

That said, there are times when I wake up in the middle of the night and I can't sleep.  I have an odd rule if I can't get back to sleep by 4:30 AM, what is the point.  We get up at 5:30AM usually.  So, I sneak out and get my walk in early.

5) I am a lucky man. I live in America, and that means I choose to get up and go to work or not.  I know in the big picture, we all need the income to feed the dog and cat to cover expenses, but there is no rule in America that dictates what job you have.  I am dedicated and committed to accomplishing what I promised when joining a company, but I remind myself often that it is still my choice as well as their choice to keep me employed.

Years and years ago, IBM was struggling.  I made a decision at that point in my 20s that we had a simple agreement.  I would work, and IBM would pay me for that work. As long as the check was deposited, then we were even.  It meant we didn't owe each other anything, and this was my choice to go to work each day.

6) I control what I say yes or no to.  There are times, and Frank knows this all too well, that we are invited out to dinner or to a party, and I may just not want to do it.  I am learning, later in life, to say no and not feel compelled to make excuses. 

Sometimes, It is because I am in a bad mood.  Work was stressful, or I just needed to be alone.  It is better for everyone for me to stay home and walk the dog, or tease the cat, than subject others to my bad mood.

7) I choose to not be or try to be perfect, and I pride myself on that.  Many people focus on perfection that they can not achieve or limit what they define perfection to be.  I don't have the "perfect" life, or "perfect" home, or "perfect" dog (maybe the perfect dog, to be honest).  But, I would not trade my life and who I am with anyone.  

This blog may not be perfect, and honestly, this was one of the nights I couldn't get back to sleep and was up walking at 4:30 AM on a Saturday.  So, if you don't agree with any of the above.. well.. I am not perfect.





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