It was time, time for me to tackle the mess lurking in the kitchen. As I approached the sink filled with dread, it hit me. “That’s right my wife and daughter did some baking” I thought to myself as the massive mixing bowl become visible over the edge of the sink. As I began to take stock of the situation, I realized to my horror that I am facing a full sink plus the dinner dishes on the counter.
My mind begins to whirl, “who am I to think I can undertake such a feat, this many dishes would need a team… nay an army to defeat! The arrogance of a mere mortal such as myself to even consider attempting such a feat.” As my mind is racing while looking upon the grim scene before me a voice begins to chime in quietly at first but slowly growing in strength.
“You have defeated worse.” the voice within me although quite it cuts through all of the excuses and fear. “Remember the thanksgiving dishes of 2018, you did those with no issue.” Another good point brought forward by the voice, the voice of reason perhaps? But what of the excuses, I mean reasons to skip them they must have some validity to them! “All that putting them off will do is make tomorrow harder.”
This response sends me staggering backward as the realization fully takes hold. I am faced with a choice, the choice is to suffer some now or to suffer more later. The suffering now will be blunt as I scrub dishes and load the dish washer, this suffering is inevitable either way. But putting off the dishes results in a psychological suffering that lingers in my mind and reminds me of the lurking chore every time I enter the kitchen or need a dish that could have been clean but remains dirty.
My hand being forced I begin to wash some silverware telling myself “I am making room to more easily clean the giant mixing bowl taking up half of the sink” After some silverware and a couple of plates I see through my own stalling tactics and undertake the mixing bowl. A few random items later and I am suddenly in the dish zone. Thoughts begin to drift as I progress through the sink full of dishes and before I know it the dishes are done.
Some days the dishes are less intimidating than others. The hardest part and most likely point of defeat is at the starting line. Once you start you realize how easy of an opponent the dishes are and can overcome the resistance that tries to hold you captive. This doesn’t only apply to dishes but to any task that has a short term cost and long term benefits.
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