Ugggg!
I was pretty wound up and hard on myself the past few days as February came to a close. Feeling like I've fallen short of my goals for the month.
Most of February was pretty slow for business which allowed me to focus on getting things done.
I got started early with the unpacking party and was able to make some great progress in a short while. I started with the low hanging fruit and shreded garbage bags full of old documents.
I got ahead of myself, distractability took over, and I started pulling out boxes of office supplies, books, school assignments, and my personal favorite, a box labeled "Brandon's Sentimental Junk".
I went nuts, tore things apart, trashed, recycled, donated,...., paused, drug up memories good and bad, forced myself to keep going, found the old photos, more memories better and worse, and filled up another big bag of negative energy.
It was psychologically exhausting and I needed a break.
The weather was incredible and I wanted to be outside. I love getting dirty and making things happen. I sorted through the stockpile of strange junk left in my backyard compliments of the Rock Collector. I built things, moved things, and got dirty.
Then the tidal wave hit and I got busy with design work. Really busy!
I tried to carve out a little time each day to keep sorting and purging. It had to be done! I had become accustomed to the zen state of an uncluttered office and I was finding it extremely difficult to remain focused and on task in this war zone.
I also had a few unfinished projects out in the yard that I wanted to wrap up because I heard the snow was finally coming. but it was important to keep the work going for my clients and the $ coming in to support my family.
Enter my frustration.
I knew I would have to check in here and report on how the past month had gone but It hadn't gone according to plan and I didn't know what to write so I put it off.
Last night (the last night of the month) Was date night with my wifey. As we sat in the restaurant waiting for our food I mentioned my frustration with not completing this challenge. Her response?
"February is a short month so you really have a few more days to get things done"
My initial thought was "Yeah, you're missing the point, it doesn't work that way".
Our food arrived and I didn't think much more about it. We had a great time. We laughed and ate amazing food. I noticed how happy and content I felt in that moment. It was really, really, nice. I wanted to box it up with our leftovers and take it home to enjoy later.
Then it hit me,
What was that affirmation from January that inspired my experiment for this month?
I am MY best ME
Oh, right...
I had completely missed the boat and all my frustrations were unwarranted.
My real goal was not to completely finish up and clear out from my Packing Party. It wasn't to take care of all the clutter spots around the house and garage, and get the yard 100% ready for the warmer months. Those things were just action items. They were things that needed to be resolved and that would help me to "find" MYSELF.
I didn't finish up a few of the things I wanted to do, but I did...
...spend an entire weekend celebrating my son's 5th birthday.
...volunteer in the art program at my daughter's school and hang out with her for lunch to read books.
...give our chickens a cleaner place to sleep.
...start running again and start swimming laps.
...have some inspiring and important conversations with my wife.
And...
...I understood better that becoming MY Best ME is an ongoing process. As long as I become a Better ME each day I'm doing my job.
So, I'm going to follow my wife's wise counsel and make the month a little longer. I'll tack on a few extra days finish up my projects and tie up loose ends. Then I'll move forward and check in with my challenge for March.
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