Picture of the Day

Photo Challenge #18

"A picture of something you wish you were better at"

Specifically, Self-Motivation.  I do really great when I have to do something for somebody else.  I don't like to let people down, so I make sure I do whatever it is that I need to for them.  But when it comes to doing things for myself?  I fail a lot.  It's so easy to be lazy!  So easy to just stick with what is comfortable.  But I'm most happy when I'm not lazy and when I get out of my comfort zone.  It's exhilarating and exciting.  So why can't I just make myself do it?  It's certainly something I wish I were better at.  This applies to several different areas in my life:

Exercise

I actually enjoy exercising.  So it baffles me that I lack such self-motivation to do it!  I do really great when I'm on a team or I have a personal trainer.  Because I know there are other people who expect me to do it and are counting on me to show up.  I wish I could afford to stay on my triathlon team.  Man.  They were great motivators.  I got my workout and my social desires filled in one spot.  Every day.  It also helps motivate me when I have a specific race to train for.  Which hasn't happened very much this year due to my knee problems.  Bottom line, I do best exercising when somebody ELSE is holding me accountable.  Workout Buddy, anyone?

Chores

Geez, it feels so good to have a clean, organized house!  So why do I have such a hard time keeping it that way?  I'm not a terribly messy person, but it's so easy for clutter to accumulate and then become overwhelming.  I've actually already tried to bust this cycle up by creating a huge chore chart for myself.  I've been made fun of for it, but it keeps me organized and forces me to do those things that I really don't want to do: like washing out the kitchen garbage or wiping down the shelves in the fridge or cleaning out old food from the cupboards or cleaning the oven.  Some weeks I'm better than others, but at least I look at it every day and guilt-trip myself in to doing something.  :)

Grocery Shopping

I LOATHE grocery shopping.  Hate, hate, hate it.  I hate trying to figure out what I'm going to want to eat in the future and then spending a whole freakin ton of money on something that will disappear in the next day, week or month.  And I get really angry when something has gone bad before I've had a chance to consume it.  I always wait until my fridge and cupboards are completely empty before I go to the grocery store.  And then it's this huge overwhelming task.  I really should go every week.  I should make a menu and cook meals that I can freeze and re-heat.  This would really help with my desire to eat more healthy foods, too.  It's SO EASY to be fat and lazy.  But horribly disappointing.

School

I've never had a desire to go back to school.  Once I moved out to VA and got a job, I thought that was it.  I earned my AAS and then certificates from phlebotomy and esthetics.  Now I just work and earn money.  Not having a Bachelor's degree hasn't held me back in my career.  But eventually over the years, the thought of school actually crossed my mind.  It's interesting living out here.  Meeting new people consists of a resume review instead of a "what are your interests?"  I would feel embarrassed every time I was asked what my alma mater was or where I went for my undergrad - implying that not only should I have an undergrad degree, but also a graduate degree.  But even this constant feeling of inadequacy didn't start that motivation fire in me to do something about it.  I just didn't care THAT much.  However, because of constant encouragement from my friend Michelle I started really giving it a thought over this past year.  And now from the more recent encouragement from my parents and other friends, I'm finally doing something about it.  I've been motivated to go back to school.  To study something that I'm actually interested in learning.  I've applied to George Mason University and hope to get a BS in Health, Fitness, and Recreation Resources with a focus in Kinesiology.  This will take forever since I will still be working full-time.  But I really hope that I will be motivated by my studies and to stretch my brain a bit.  .