What If Today...You Didn't HAVE To Do Anything......

Today's Inspirational “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

I thought this city would be a perfect place where everyone got along and anyone could be anything. Turns out, life's a little bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes. Which means, hey, glass half full, we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try. So no matter what kind of person you are, I implore you: Try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you.
~~ Judy Hopps  (Zootopia)

To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.
~~  Walter Mitty (THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY)

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What would today feel like if you found yourself in the envious position of not having to do any of the things you didn't want to do?!?!  Think about it.  What if you didn't have to go to work. And the trash from last evening, you don't have to take it out!  And since it is pouring down rain outside, you DO NOT HAVE to take the dog outside for their walk. No Sir-ree!!  

OK, I know what you may be thinking, and before your mind starts running amok thinking the Ole Flu Bug has caused this New Age Nerd to lose his mind, let me explain.........

A little reframing trick that truly has transformed my way of engaging many of life's daily action steps and tasks is to simply change your Have To's into Get To's!!  For instance, now that Spring has Sprung, it's almost time for me to uncover the dreaded lawnmower for weekly afternoon dates with the 1/2 acre of grass that will need tending to.  NOT exactly my favorite endeavor, to say the least!  But instead of waking up next Saturday and thinking, “UUUGGHH, I HAVE to mow the lawn!”, I will think of all the people who are physically unable to mow their lawn and would literally give anything to mow mine.  And then, I will say a quick prayer of gratitude and reframe the chore into a declaration of “I am so grateful that today I GET TO mow the lawn!”

As simple as this little tip may seem, I invite you to give it a try.  It has completely changed my energy around SO many of the challenging, mundane, and previously disliked chores and activities that fill the day.  With practice, you will find that most of the HAVE TO tasks in life suddenly feel like incredible opportunities! 

Another great example of how this has caused such a miraculous shift within me comes from my puppy buddy Nacho. (may he rest in peace)  At the age of seven, he was diagnosed with diabetes and when the vet quickly showed me the process of twice daily insulin shots, I almost passed out in his office.  I don't like needles, much less having to STICK my beloved pup to keep him alive after every meal!  For about a week, I would become terrified with anxiety about an hour before I knew I would have to draw a needle and perform this ‘dreaded deed’.  But then, a couple of my friends lost their own dogs and I knew they would absolutely trade almost anything to HAVE my problem.  So, I started being thankful that Nacho was still alive and reframed the shot into something I GET TO DO!  And guess what, the fear and anxiety melted back into the ether from which they came, and I started to see ‘shot time’ as a way of expressing my unconditional LOVE for Nacho!  Amazing how something seemingly SO simple can make such a transformative change......

So today, what would it look like to engage the next thing that you may HAVE TO DO, with a quick reframing into it being something you GET TO DO!  

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez