Start with the laundry at your feet
I got overwhelmed. We all get overwhelmed sometimes. If you have a personality like mine, when you start thinking of all the stuff you have to do in the short term, midterm, and long term, you start to throw everything on a big heap, like an immense pile of laundry, that suddenly seems impossible to tackle. You feel swamped, and you cannot possibly imagine yourself getting through it all, so why even bother to start? Where do I even start?
I once got the advice, and it stayed with me to this day: start with the laundry at your feet.
It's no use looking at that enormous mountain; that will only discourage any effort you want to put into it. Do the little, pragmatic thing first. Is it to simply put a bowl in the sink or to take a shower? Is it moving a few pieces of clothing to the donation pile? Or is it sending one application for a new job? It can be anything, but start with something that gives you a little more room to move and sort the other laundry out.
I also have things I cannot even start because I do not know where to begin! So I started with the one thing I could do and went from there. I found an apartment for my mother, and the papers are signed. I have some more room to move. Now to figure out how to empty her house, move all her stuff, renovate, sell... but wait, I have my daily job where I have major changes going on, friends that I need to see, a partner I want to care for, and a trip I have to plan. Oh dear. There I go again.
Laundry at my feet first; the rest can wait. I'm going to give a kiss to my partner and tell them I love them. That seems like a good start.
Every day is a fresh beginning,
Listen my soul to the glad refrain.
And, spite of old sorrows
And older sinning,
Troubles forecasted
And possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again.- New every morning, Susan Coolidge
Soft greetings, Rat
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