Friday morning: Alarm clock goes off at 6:07 a.m. Hit snooze, roll over, and fall back asleep for eight minutes before it goes off again, all while thinking, “Mass starts in a hour. I’ve got to get up now if I’m going to shower and make it in time. But this bed is so warm and comfortable and I’m still tired. I could use the extra sleep.” The process repeats itself until about 7:20. Missed mass. “Maybe I’ll make the noon one at St. Isidore’s. Oh wait but there is leaf raking at 11, which is going to cut into mass time,” I think to myself.
At this point in time, class starts in about an hour. I turn on the lamp next to my bed; proceeding through common morning routines without a shower but with a cup of coffee. Lacking motivation, I was still determined to leave the house early enough to walk to campus as opposed to riding my bicycle. To me, the bike had become a cop-out, giving me an excuse to wait to the last minute to leave, a trend that had permeated to all areas of my life.
It was a reactive attitude and I was allowing it to take control of me, not me control of it. The trend had been progressing through the week, and I knew something needed to change sooner rather than later.
Before I go any farther, here is a little bit about me. A senior majoring in Agricultural Education at Kansas State University, I come from a central Kansas farm family of eight. I am taking Block I, the first of my last three semesters that really focus on education. The work is not hard, but there is a lot of it. Pair this with organizational responsibilities and a busy schedule, one might be able to see where a loss of motivation comes in.
My FFA advisor one told me that what you do in one area of life permeates to others. I know this to be true. Searching for a comparison on the way to campus, I began to compare my attitude towards life to the way I treat my hair (here is my strange way of thinking). Making a donation of Locks of Love has been something I’ve wanted to do for some time. I've tried before but have usually given up just when it gets too long to take care of. I asked my younger brother to hold me accountable this time around. The follow through on this one has been hard.
My hair gets longer and the semester progresses. I often focus only on the immediate and lose sight of the end goal. My hair, two inches past my shoulder, is viewed as a nuisance, not a gift in the making. Instead of grooming, I spend as little time on it as possible, pulling it up and out of my face, not wanting to take the extra time to make myself look a bit more presentable. So too, is the way I view my life as a student. Instead the future teacher, I see the monotony of homework, paying bills and just getting by. T-shirt and jeans suffice for my attire, procrastination is regularity, and what I feel like doing often outweighs what I should be doing.
How do I overcome? The answer lies in how I view my situation; a nuisance or a gift, monotony or career preparation. When choosing the latter, finding motivation is much easier. Seeing the bigger picture helps one to recognize the purpose in the immediate.
Thinking back to my early morning struggle of getting out of bed in time for mass, how was I was viewing the situation; immediate or big picture? Mass often helps me to start my day off right, and usually gives me the energy I need to be prudent and productive. Yet I didn't see that at the time. My viewpoint at that instant was a disadvantage. Switch to big picture or understanding the reasoning behind one's actions and our viewpoint becomes an advantage. Friday proved to be a better day than Wednesday or Thursday, but the fix isn’t instant. It happens over time.
How are you viewing your life? Are you concerned with the immediate? Is instant gratification all you care about? Or do you think big picture? Our decisions and actions in one moment impact the next hour, the next day, week, month, year, and more, of our lives, but also the lives of all those around us. Viewpoint advantage.
Moments of realization, even if one of re-learning something, leave me in aww. It’s an “aww-moment” which gives me inspiration. Translation = aww-spiration. Enjoy.
At this point in time, class starts in about an hour. I turn on the lamp next to my bed; proceeding through common morning routines without a shower but with a cup of coffee. Lacking motivation, I was still determined to leave the house early enough to walk to campus as opposed to riding my bicycle. To me, the bike had become a cop-out, giving me an excuse to wait to the last minute to leave, a trend that had permeated to all areas of my life.
It was a reactive attitude and I was allowing it to take control of me, not me control of it. The trend had been progressing through the week, and I knew something needed to change sooner rather than later.
Before I go any farther, here is a little bit about me. A senior majoring in Agricultural Education at Kansas State University, I come from a central Kansas farm family of eight. I am taking Block I, the first of my last three semesters that really focus on education. The work is not hard, but there is a lot of it. Pair this with organizational responsibilities and a busy schedule, one might be able to see where a loss of motivation comes in.
My FFA advisor one told me that what you do in one area of life permeates to others. I know this to be true. Searching for a comparison on the way to campus, I began to compare my attitude towards life to the way I treat my hair (here is my strange way of thinking). Making a donation of Locks of Love has been something I’ve wanted to do for some time. I've tried before but have usually given up just when it gets too long to take care of. I asked my younger brother to hold me accountable this time around. The follow through on this one has been hard.
My hair gets longer and the semester progresses. I often focus only on the immediate and lose sight of the end goal. My hair, two inches past my shoulder, is viewed as a nuisance, not a gift in the making. Instead of grooming, I spend as little time on it as possible, pulling it up and out of my face, not wanting to take the extra time to make myself look a bit more presentable. So too, is the way I view my life as a student. Instead the future teacher, I see the monotony of homework, paying bills and just getting by. T-shirt and jeans suffice for my attire, procrastination is regularity, and what I feel like doing often outweighs what I should be doing.
How do I overcome? The answer lies in how I view my situation; a nuisance or a gift, monotony or career preparation. When choosing the latter, finding motivation is much easier. Seeing the bigger picture helps one to recognize the purpose in the immediate.
Thinking back to my early morning struggle of getting out of bed in time for mass, how was I was viewing the situation; immediate or big picture? Mass often helps me to start my day off right, and usually gives me the energy I need to be prudent and productive. Yet I didn't see that at the time. My viewpoint at that instant was a disadvantage. Switch to big picture or understanding the reasoning behind one's actions and our viewpoint becomes an advantage. Friday proved to be a better day than Wednesday or Thursday, but the fix isn’t instant. It happens over time.
How are you viewing your life? Are you concerned with the immediate? Is instant gratification all you care about? Or do you think big picture? Our decisions and actions in one moment impact the next hour, the next day, week, month, year, and more, of our lives, but also the lives of all those around us. Viewpoint advantage.
Moments of realization, even if one of re-learning something, leave me in aww. It’s an “aww-moment” which gives me inspiration. Translation = aww-spiration. Enjoy.
