What Do You Get To Do Today?

May 13
3 min read

You may read that and think, What do you mean? I have to take the kids to school, go to work, run my kids a million different directions, figure out dinner at 7 PM, and then do it all over again tomorrow.

Or maybe you don’t have children, or they’re in a different phase of life, but your routine is still its own version of busy.

Yes, those are all things you have to do today because people rely on you.

But what would happen to your mood during all of those “must-dos” if you flipped them into “get-tos”?

Every night, I set my alarm for 5:30 AM knowing full well that our 6-month-old puppy, Ralphie, is probably going to come to my bedside before then, nibble my fingers, and give me a cute little whimper to let me know he has to go out.

I could complain because I wanted to sleep until my alarm. Or I could say, I get to wake up to a sweet puppy who loves me and is doing exactly what we trained him to do.

I get to wake up to three four-legged pups who love me.

Then I get to spend the next hour and a half starting my day the way I need to. I get to make the coffee, exercise, watch the sun rise, maybe start a load of laundry to kick-start the day, and then I get to be home to wake up my growing humans and get them to school.

That is a privilege.

It’s truly in our perspective.

On the other side, maybe there are some things you have to do that you don’t want. Things that aren’t so easy to flip into a “get to” mindset.

That’s where I’ve practiced a very specific mindset over the last five or so years.

If this is something I’m dreading, why am I doing it?

Is it a job that drains you just thinking about going there? Yes, you need to keep a job to pay bills and do life. But could you also dedicate even 10 minutes a day to polishing your resume, networking, and putting it out into the universe that you are ready for a new opportunity?

Is it a board you serve on that just isn’t filling your cup anymore? It’s easy to say yes because you want to help and make a contribution, but if that’s not happening, it’s okay to step away.

You have one beautiful, precious life to live.

Not every moment will feel easy. In fact, many won’t. You’ll have to work to make it work. But then you’ll start to see how those small steps make the biggest difference.

Right now, there are 6 1/2 days left until my kids are home from school for the summer. I cannot wait.

But I am also working very hard over these next 6 1/2 days to get my client work done and prepped as much as I can, so I don’t have to sit at my desk every day this summer. Instead, I can do morning art projects with them, spend afternoons at the pool, and truly disconnect on our family vacations.

It’s a privilege to work the way I do.

But don’t you think for a moment that I don’t work very hard to get it all done so we can live this life the way we want to.