it's a dog's life...or is it?

I was able to catch a few rays lounging in the back yard with Solo, my sisters boxer.  He's great company and I particularly love his view of life.  The pic says it all.  He and I are complete opposites.  This was the only thing on his mind.  Life is about discovering the next place to quietly lounge and basically do, nothing.  Me, on the other hand, had much more on the brain.  What you can't see are the stack of text books to the left of my chair.  Lounging in this comfort involved the attempt of absorbing the sum of six hundred pages of required reading in my current seminary class load.  I laughed out loud trying to imagine Solo sitting down next to me with reading glasses on the end of his snout and a laptop in front of him as he checked his stock investment performance, or rigorously composed a thirty page research paper due next week.  I will guarantee that none of these things were on this dog's mind.  Although I envy him, I'm aware that his life is not my life, nor was it ever meant to be.


The first week on the job and training went well.  You can see in the pic the view outside our training facility in Glendale.  The view of Glendale is incredible and on most days breathtaking.  I have three more weeks of in class training here in Glendale until being assigned to my office in Orange County.  I have a whole new rhythm to get into in life now.  It's a welcomed transition, but stressful.  No pain, no gain...right?

I've been battling procrastination lately.  Ever been there?  You know, when you know you should do something now, but everything inside of you begins to rationalize why you can put it off.  The truth is, with this new schedule I cannot afford to procrastinate.  I've often told people in counseling and coaching settings that outside of prayer, the most important conversations you will have daily are with yourself.  Self-talk is evident in all of our lives.  Some daily tell themselves that they can't do something, or that they are fat, or all the should have, could have, would have statements... Because I understand the value of good self-talk, I've adopted this phrase that I'm telling myself every time I begin to rationalize my procrastination: "If I procrastinate today, I will need to accept a less effective and unsuccessful tomorrow."  Most of us even eat for today, when the truth is, what you eat today will be the fuel for tomorrow.  If you feel like crap today, chances are its because you didn't eat well or rest well, yesterday.  One man said, "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is opportunity."  What opportunity?  The opportunity for a more effective and successful tomorrow.  If I want to succeed tomorrow, I can't procrastinate today.  This little self kick in the butt is good.  I need to love myself more than the temporary feeling of relief, followed by the stress that procrastination offers.  It just isn't worth it in the end (yes that's implied to mean the pain of being kicked in the ass...by your own stupid leaning toward laziness...hehehe).  After all, It's not just a dog's life (lounging, playing, eating, etc).  It's our life.  Don't settle for less than your greatest potential.  Live it now!