30 Days to a Habit Change - Day 4

"You unloaded the dishwasher?"

The disbelief in my wife's voice was the best part.  Yes, I unloaded the dishwasher.  Next to colonizing the moon, this must be the most difficult thing mankind will ever attempt.

So, it continues.  I'm on top of things and actually finding the time to do stuff right.  On my quest to build the habit of actually doing the items on my todo lists (I have several), I was even able to blow one list away permanently.

If you look back, you'll remember that there was a reason to pick "Actually do the things on my todo list" as the habit to create - I've learned over time that if I just did the things on the list, my life would be completely different.  I've made efforts in vain before and got a glimpse of the good life, and making Emily happy because I emptied the dishwasher is just one of the many facets.  It's the small things that add up. :)

Getting things done isn't really about hammering out goals or tasks.  Humanity has completely lost its mind with doing, doing, doing, and is wrecking itself and the planet in the process.  It's more about getting the essentials done right so you can enjoy the ride.  If you leave for a destination on a bike (or car, yech.) with plenty of time to get there and you've inspected the tires, you'll not get pissed if when you get stuck in traffic.  If you clean your dishes right after you use them, you'll have a nice clean set ready for the next meal and you can go relax.

The car thing is funny, because I ride my bike so much that I sort of drive like I ride a bike.  Biking takes some effort; you don't just sit there cramming your face with a Burger King Angry Whopper while tuning the radio and calling your doctor about your blood cholesterol report and impending stroke.  To ride a good distance, you have to conserve your energy a bit and pick your battles.  You don't pedal like everything is a sprint, which is the opposite of the way most people drive.

So I find myself driving in the slow lane, at or just under the speed limit, just enjoying the drive and angry drivers (with their Angry Whoppers) tailgating me and whipping around me, only for me to catch them at the next light.  My only question for them is the same that the cop queries when writing their ticket, "What's the emergency, ma'am?" I mean, is everything an emergency?  Why drive like that all the time?

Immediately after starting the 30 day project, I realized that the two greatest prospects of this is 1. Taking the time to do things right, which in turn makes everything easier to do in the first place, and 2. Serenity.  Not the "Serenity Now!" that George Costanza screams about, either.

Yesterday was my son's 5th birthday and he asked me if I wanted to be five.  I said sure, five is good.  Then he asked about four.  I said sure, four is good, too.  Then he scrunched up his nose, thought real hard and tried to throw me a curve ball.  He likes to put two big numbers together and use those as an even bigger number.  "What about seventy-eighteen?"  

"Seventy-eighteen? Hmm, I'd love to be seventy-eighteen," I said.  "I bet that could be a lot of fun."

When you are enjoying the ride, I'm sure it is.