Motivational Monday #4

It's so easy to be motivated on the 2nd day of the year, isn't it.  Anybody else got the January fizzle going on?  You know... full steam not head?!

If you've ever watched an exercise video, or been in an exercise class, you know that there's the warm up, the work out and the cool down.  Well... if you're watching Richard Simmons.  In the newer workout videos, there's the 2 minute warm up, the workout, and the cool down too.  Now adays, however, it's "cool" to have intensity bursts in the middle of those work outs.  Trust me, my behind is still sore from last week's Turbo Fire!  After those intensity bursts, there can be a "break for water" command issued or a bit of a mini-cool down and lowing of the intensity. 

Life is like that... sometimes we're moving so fast everything is a blur and other times (vacation, perhaps?) is like that cool down period.  In order to be able to keep going we have to speed up and slow down to keep our energy flowing.  So  if you're feeling the fizzle this week, it's okay to have a mini cooldown.  I'm not saying, "Jump of that wagon and hope to heck you can get back on."  Nuh-uh.  I'm saying, "Back away from the tailgate of the wagon and get yourself all cozy up against the side with people to hold you in and relax a bit."

So if the work out/wagon analogies aren't working for you.  Here's a retail one (yeah, we ALL love to shop for something!):  I was in The Gap one time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  If you've ever shopped there you know, the shelves always look pristine.  Well, they looked more like my daughter's closet after she's looked for "just the right thing" to wear.  As I'm browsing, and oddly very close to the only customer in the store, the manager called out, "Recover." Then all the employees went into action and it looked like a clean up fire drill.  Folding, straightening, rehanging... you get the picture.  I asked one of the employees, "Is there an inspection or something?"  The answer was, "During the Christmas season, there's no point in trying to follow everyone around and straighten up when the store is so full.  So we plan it out, rather than just keep doing it.  It keeps us sane."

This week, let's all call out "Recover" in our lives and spend the time getting things back in line so that  we can keep our sanity and our motivation going.