Let's Pretend!

"Focus on what is important."

"LET'S PRETEND!" 

You know, sometimes the little unpleasantnesses of life can force one to focus.  I like to think I am mature.  However, one of the life lessons it has taken me longest to learn is that when you take something personally, you probably should take it personally.  Learn the lesson now.  Carve a handhold in your rut and get a grip.

What I mean is this:  I know when I am procrastinating. You may or may not.  I know how restless I become when I'm trying not to feel put-upon. You only know that I am driving you mad.  If I am scattered, restless, and lying to myself, I may very well do something you find so irritating you just cannot hide it.  At this point, I have a couple of options.

1.  Blame you.  I can focus on your reaction to my foolishness, instead of the foolishness itself.

2.  Take it personally.

"Well, jd, had you not been so rushed and disorganized, this misunderstanding would not have occurred!"

Let's pretend that I am a fully evolved human being.  I absolutely will not undertake any project unless I have thoroughly and methodically set it up for success.  I never ignore what I should be doing for what I'd rather be doing.  I take it in stride when the person I am helping is a teenager, and does not appear to give a tinker's damn about this blog or that plane ride to Europe next summer.  I realize that a learning curve can throw you down on your face now and then. I know that a house does not magically run itself while I stare at a computer screen.  Consequently, I never find myself futzing around with settings I should have tested before I ever wrote a word of blog.  There's no way I'd be forced to face my shortcomings relative to my inconsistent efforts-- pure sloth regarding simple site metrics and analytics; no defined course of action sketched out ahead of time.  Let's pretend.

Let's pretend I've faced myself.  I have work to do.  The child who appears so blase' is not.  He has faced much disappointment and many dashed hopes for one so young.  Look beyond his demeanor, and know that the finest gift you can give him is to keep on keeping on; to learn and grow past your character defects, self-sabotage, and other fears of success.  No one is a failure until he or she has given up on self!  Let's pretend that I can see myself standing in the airport, watching the tall, slim figure of my middle child moving down the jetway and into his future.  Let's pretend.  Pretend that I am looking back at the last quarter of 2013 in astonishment, because the change within has finally manifest as goals accomplished, mission completed.  I'll see myself taking a hard look at the way I've been operating.  I'll see that I was forced to take stock of what success means for me in order to have any clue for achieving it.  I'll see that I always had what it takes to succeed.  Let's pretend that I have already done it.  Now all I need to do is stop pretending and get to work.