Oh motivation: the ever elusive, yet oh so necessary, push to accomplish a goal. We all have them, the unseen and unfinished brilliant ideas or crafty undertakings we never quite get around to finishing. And that’s assuming they were ever, well, started to begin with. Take the shirts that never had the buttons sewn back on, pants that were bought with the intention of being hemmed, do-it-yourself shelves for the living room that the dog chewed up in the backyard. Or that can of paint belonging to a…who can remember what it was exactly? And every woman has a crochet project stuffed into a plastic bag somewhere that was inspiring when it was thirty degrees outside and snowing, but now the sun is out and spring fever is running rampant so you stuff it into the closet in hopes of enjoying the fresh air.
Well what about the closet itself? I know for sure it wasn’t the guy that created the lack of motivation who built the closet (maybe his brother?), but he surely devised a great space to hide the never completed projects that haunt us all. But to me, it’s like an old lazy mans’ saying: Out of sight, out of mind. Kind of like the dust balls behind the furniture you only see if you move the furniture right?
I feel that the closet embodies all that is pushed aside after free time runs out signaling responsibility and the death of fun. They waited at the bottom of the list behind boring tasks like home repairs and car maintenance, taunting you, much like the quarter that fell between the seat and center console at the coin-operated carwash. You can touch it with your fingertips but can’t quite dig it out; it just gets buried deeper and deeper and your car STILL isn’t clean. On a side note, those guys with the vacuums at the Jiffy Lube are probably opening savings accounts with those pieces of loose change. Meanwhile, you’re stuck at the drive-thru searching for exact change and coming up just a few cents short of not having to put it on your debit card.
So how do you find the motivation to pull up your shirt-sleeves and brush off the layers of dust to pull the project back out of the closet? I was hoping you could tell me. No? Well, my theory, based on personal experience (and what my own mother concocted for “fun” things to do as a family) is that you should adopt some pre-teens (even better if you already have some of course), before they get personalities and formulate their own views on life, and teach them these exciting activities. At least then you won’t have to suffer painstakingly by yourself for hour upon torturous hour until said project is completed and you’re half bald from the stress of teaching them. That way, when they’re capable of taking over and feel confidant enough to do it themselves you can enjoy a margarita in a lounge chair by the pool.
Don’t have a pool? Maybe that’s the next big project you can undertake as a family, and hopefully, when it’s a big, misshapen hole in your grass you can muster up some motivation to call the pool guy, a Dave or Tom usually. Dave has all the motivation required in order to finish this project for you. Of course, he has a payroll to keep those guys working hard to finish it before another season change. That way, when it’s still warm enough for you to pull that ratty old swim-suit out from behind the pajamas you never returned from your birthday six months ago, all you have to do is motivate yourself to put some ice in the blender and add the margarita mix. The press and hold the ON button until smooth, pour into your favorite frosty mug and commence to lay back and ponder your next big idea until another one of life’s distractions leaves this one unfinished as well.
