How Imperfection Saved My Week

My intentions were good–a little TOO good. I had a plan for this week. Since I’m on the tail end of a few big projects, I had to bring my A game if I wanted to meet my goals. Trust me. I wanted to meet those goals.

Unfortunately, my A game got lost somewhere in a bag of Tootsie Rolls, a 24-pack of Coke, an insatiable need for long-sleeve T-shirts, last minute family events and–oops!–a few forgotten items from a previous to-do list.

Monday afternoon I found myself wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, watching 666 Park Avenue reruns because my stomach felt iffy. No, it wasn’t the Tootsie Rolls or the Coke, at least not yet. A panicky feeling rose at the thought of all the things I needed to do that didn’t involve the couch, blanket or reruns. But just that morning I saw a quote on Google+ that said something like “If you ignore your body’s whispers, you won’t be able to ignore its screams.”

Well played, G+.

So ten minutes after the first ripple of nausea passed, another arrived, and I listened to that whisper. Reclined on the couch. Flipped through the channels. Came across the show mentioned above (I really enjoyed the episodes I watched and can’t figure out why it got cancelled. It had a supernatural/evil building in Manhattan, rich people who are manipulated and sometimes murdered within its walls, and it had good acting, interesting plots and a really spooky vibe. Oh well.) and tried not to think about all the things I needed to be doing.

Thirty minutes in, I felt better, so I figured I’d have lunch and a Coke. My stomach handled both fine, but I was really getting into the show. I knew I should be working on my project. Instead, I stayed on the couch and fired up my laptop to write guest blogs during commercials.

When I’d written the guest blogs, I turned the TV off and dove into the project. Got a TON done and I enjoyed doing it. After dinner I headed to the store to buy long-sleeve tees and a few pairs of pajamas. Shopping and I aren’t friends, so I have to go when the urge hits. Bingo! Another dreaded task finished.

How was this possible? I was lazy and still managed to meet my daily goals?

Hey, if doing what I wanted to do worked, I figured I’d give it a go on dinner. Yesterday I’d planned on making fish, but fish didn’t sound appealing. I passed. No one in my family was crying about this, trust me! Instead of the planned menu, I made twice-baked potatoes with ham and cheese. Yum! A nice surprise.

When I get too set in my ways and too focused on my agenda, I become miserable. When I lightened up, watched some fun TV, ate too many Tootsie Rolls, skipped the fish and bought my shirts, I still met my goals, and I was happy doing them. Frankly, allowing myself to be imperfect completely changed my attitude and saved my week.

What can I be a rebel about today? Hmm…

What have you done lately to boost your mood?

Have a fun day!!