"I did not start my run until midnight after my shift and I definitely wasn’t feeling it. But I made a commitment and I’m going to do my damndest to stick to it."
My friend recently shared those words: "I definitely wasn't feeling it." I wonder how may people are stuck living in those words. How many people are waiting for the right mood, the right feelings, the perfect life ingredients to magically fall in place before they make the move to accomplish something? I've come to see it as a super power, this ability to look in the face of I don't feel like it - laugh - and then do what one doesn't feel like doing anyways. Seth Godin's says, "We change our mood as a result of how we act. If you want to feel a certain way, begin by acting as if you do." How empowering is that? I've been on both sides of this mood thing. I've been the guy playing the victim to my moods. I've sat around waiting them out, hoping they will pass. Often they do, only to be replaced by another mood looking to hold me back. Bad moods always seem to have more bad reinforcements. These days, though, I am here. I am here in this place where when I don't feel like writing - I write. Because I want to feel like a guy in the mood to write. I am here in this place where when I don't feel like I can have relationships, I pick up the phone and call someone and have a meaningful conversation. Because I want to feel like a guy in the mood to have a relationship. I am here in this place where when I feel like I'm too old to do things I used to do, I go run a long way because I want to feel like a guy in the mood to do things not many people my age can do. I am here in this place where when I don't feel like doing ANYTHING that I know is going to move me forward in life, I do it anyways. Because frankly, I've grown tired of waiting for the circumstances in my life to magically line up for me to become who I'm made to be. I'm tired of my moods standing between me and ME. I'll tell you what I've discovered early on in this process. Moods are weak. Once you stand up to them and let them know - I'm not going to have my day dictated by you - I am not your victim - they start complying with more of your demands. When you look the "I don't feel like it" mood straight in the eyes, and you tell it, "I made a commitment and I’m going to do my damndest to stick to it," that mood runs off like the wounded. My advice today - if you feel a mood come over you that you don't like, start acting like the mood you want. Let the mood you don't want go victimize someone else. Someone far more willing than you to just sit and wait for the mood to pass.
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Robert "Keith" CartwrightI am a friend of God, a dad, a runner who never wins, but is always searching for beauty in the race. Archives
May 2024
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