I don’t want to do it. I’m tired. Not feeling it. I’ve got other things to do.

Yeah, me too.

We tell ourselves we’d rather be at the movies or get a few more zzzzz’s or we pine for the good old days, but since we’re adults, we suck it up and do what we have to do.

We’ve got bills to pay and people to please. So we do it. Whether we feel like it or not.

Snap, crackle, pop, the day is over and we’re glad we didn’t give up and let our pouting inner child have their way.

What happened?

I saw this quote today that suggests an answer:

“Motivation follows action. Get started, and you’ll find your motivation follows…”

Sounds good but I don’t think it’s true.

We get started because we have bills to pay and people to please. That’s our motivation.

It’s not about the pleasure of a good day’s work. It’s all about pain.

The pain of not paying the bills and the consequences thereof outweighs the pain of doing things we don’t feel like doing.

When our inner child is having a tantrum and doesn’t want to do their homework, promising them an extra hour of TV if they finish might work, but in my experience, what works better is the threat of NO TV if they don’t.

Here’s how to get more lawyer-to-lawyer referrals

I found this quotation today:

“My mother is a big believer in being responsible for your own happiness. She always talked about finding joy in small moments and insisted that we stop and take in the beauty of an ordinary day. When I stop the car to make my kids really see a sunset, I hear my mother’s voice and smile.”

Jennifer Garner said that. Thank you, Jennifer. It’s a good reminder to stop and smell the roses. And that’s just what I’m going to do.

It’s rained a lot here lately and there are flowers blooming everywhere. I’ve been indoors for too long. Time for an outing. Time to (literally) smell the roses. Time to spend some time with my wife and appreciate our blessings. 

The forecast is for clear skies. I’m looking forward to the sunset. 

Two new studies appear to confirm something most of us have been taught from an early age (but may have doubted), that it is better to give than receive.

“Joy from giving lasts much longer than joy from getting,” the studies show.

I have a thought.

If we get more pleasure from giving than receiving, then it appears that we are hard-wired to give because we are hard-wired to seek pleasure.

The more we give to or help others, the better we feel. The better we feel, the more the recipients of our giving benefit from our giving.

The best way to help others and make the world a better place, then, is for each of us to put ourselves first.

It’s a kind of spiritual capitalism.

Merry Christmas.

You know that project you’ve been thinking about for the last six months? The book you said you were going to write–three years ago? That thing you keep talking about but never start?

Take some advice from someone who has been there and (not) done that: stop thinking and start doing.

Bruce Lee said, “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.”

Truth.

You’re smart. A good thinker. Too good for your own good. It’s time to up your game and get some stuff done.

C’mon, you know you want to.

Don’t tell me you’re not ready. That’s irrelevant. Jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down.

You’ve taken enough notes. Done enough research. Pondered enough possibilities. It’s time to put pen to paper, shovel to dirt, hands on the helm, and get the ship moving.

It will be exciting. A new adventure. Scary, maybe, because you don’t know where you’ll wind up.

I’ll tell you where you’ll wind up. Same place as all of us. The big sleep, that’s where. “Don’t die with your music still in you,” Wayne Dyer said.

“What if it doesn’t work?” you ask. The question is, “What if it does?”

The economy is good. Incomes are up, unemployment is down, the future looks promising. Many are beginning to realize how bad things had been.

When you feel good, it’s easy to take it for granted. It’s only when you don’t feel good–when you’re sick or sore, stressed or sad, battered or broke–that you appreciate how good it is to not feel that way.

You don’t notice what you had until it’s gone. Or it returns.

One thing I do to keep my balance is to take inventory. Periodically, I sit down and note what I have, not what I don’t have. I make a list of people and experiences I appreciate. I note my talents and assets. I ruminate on the positive aspects of where I’ve been and where I’m going.

I do this because gratitude is essential to happiness.

When bad things happen, I remind myself that this too shall pass and note that it could have been worse (because it can almost always be worse). Then I look for the lesson.

If all else fails, if I’m in a bad place and can’t seem to extricate myself, I remind myself that I’m not going to live forever and I can choose to give up or suck it up and get back to business.

And then I feel much better.