The Most Important Lesson I learned in 2011

I normally don't write posts about advice or life lessons...who am I to advise the [at least 10] readers of this blog? ;) But I'm sitting here, sipping my Douglass Hill Sweet Red Table Wine, thinking how it's only 36 days until Christmas...and how the year is coming to an end...thinking of all the ways I've changed...


All of which makes me believe that this specific lesson that took me twenty four YEARS to learn is worth mentioning...

JUST DO IT.

It's not a motivational piece of advice, it's a way of thinking.

Think of a time when you had to do something you really didn't want to do.  I bet you can think of at least one thing you didn't want to do for each day so far in 2011. It's natural, we all have chores, appointments, tasks at work, that we loathe doing.

For me, the most common example I can think of is room set-ups at work.

I used to cringe every time I flipped on a light switch in a meeting room because I knew that I would see a room in total dismay. Each table rotated, pushed against the wall, or simply not where it was supposed to be. now, naturally I'd get annoyed...huffing and puffing while I drug the tables and chairs back and forth until they were in their proper location. It seems like a "not-so-big-deal" but trust me...it is.

With every heave and every ho...tables would get stuck on carpet, chairs would tip over...basically I was making more work for myself-because of my attitude.

I cant believe that in the 7+ years I've worked here...out of all the hundreds of times my mom has told me to "let it go" or "put it in perspective" it took until NOW for me to understand.

Sometime this year, I started accepting the fact that (even though it's not my job...and completely "unfair") it had to be done.

WOW. Epiphany. Once I started to accept these facts and just do the job without putting so much thought into it...it became 10x easier to complete. 
The chairs wouldn't get caught on the floor plugs. The tables suddenly rotated easier. It was a miracle.

No. It just seemed easier.

Basically what I'm getting at is: The sooner you accept the task at hand, the easier it becomes.

Really, try it. It doesn't matter what it is. A paper that's due, running to the bank, unloading the dishwasher. IT Doesn't MATTER. If you just accept that it needs to be done... the words on your assignment start flowing, the traffic will seem lighter ,or the dishes will fly onto the shelves quicker than you can imagine. (Note: they won't actually fly...but you get the point.) The annoying chore will go must faster and easier if you stop whining (yes, fuming silently to yourself counts) and just GET IT DONE.

That's it. I'm sure many people already know this "trick"...or perhaps this was never a problem to some...I just thought I'd share :)

Happy task-finishing!

What's the biggest lesson you've learned this past year?
-Liz