Maybe Today, Three is Enough

With a month under our belt in this new year, time reminds us that it waits for no one. Days and weeks march forward whether we are ready for that passage of time or not. I am reminded of this as I sit at my desk which is piled up with papers, bills and to do items that need to get done. Each day brings us choices. What to do, what not to do, and what will occupy our time. Yet everything we want is not possible to accomplish in one day. Most things take time and effort that often occupy multiple days, sometimes weeks or even months.

Frustration comes when we want things faster than they are getting done OR we choose to spend our time on things that, in the long run, do not get us where we want to go. It is hard to stay focused when we feel tired, sad, lonely or even a bit overwhelmed by that ever growing to do list. I was comforted by these words from Ralph Waldo Emerson…do what you know. Which reminds me that I can do most anything I put my mind to, if I really want to. I just have to sit down, focus and do it. I have to do what I know to tackle the things before me, over and over and over again…and perception is converted into character.

Character, the thing we build when we live each day as the person we want to be NOT the person we have become through indulgence. Too lazy to do anything. Too self focused to see the benefits in the things we need to do. Too tired to get up and go. Too depressed to think straight, or just being TOO much of anything that is driven by emotion or fear. These are the tough days, the ones where it seems easier to do nothing than to do something. These are also the days when we face our inner demons and have to fight like the dickens to get up and get going.

These are the days when our character is tested and prevails when we simply do the things we know. Straighten out the piles, sort through the to do list, prioritize the MOST important things and do them one, two three. Suddenly three things are done and dusted, and within minutes POOF! that emotion or fear is less powerful. Character is who we are when no one is looking. It is who we have chosen to be over the many years of our lives. It is getting up and not giving in. Sometimes we must rely on the character we have built, and begin to make a few changes in order to become the better, stronger, and more positive person we want to be in the future. All that happens one to do item at a time. One, two, three…and away we go!

Our lives are not built on fast forward, our lives are built by the small choices we make everyday. By the way we choose to do what we know over and over again. Our perception of ourselves and the situation changes, and before we know it three to do items are done. And maybe today those three things are all that is needed. What was daunting has become less awful in three tasks done. Maybe today three is enough!