Do you ever make things harder than they have to be? In looking at this picture, what if the ask was simply: Get to the end of this mud pit. This lady thought, "I'm going to get a heavy ball and push it on my hands and knees to the end of the mud pit so everyone can see how hard I work." Her friend, given the same task, simply walked alongside the mud pit to the end. When ball lady finally makes it to the end, she is mad. No one is clapping for her. Her friend is clean and sipping on a bottle of water.
This example is a bit extreme but take a minute to think about everything you do, from planning a birthday party to cooking dinner. Are you doing more than you have to, and getting upset because no one is clapping for you? Would your kids be just as happy (or happier) with tater tots rather than Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Bread Crumbs? And would you be upset because you went to "all that trouble" and no one really cares? Is that on them, or on you? Did anyone ask for fancy potatoes?
Another way I make things difficult is with procrastination. I got a new car and spent a year not programming my radio buttons. I just clicked through station after station, never saving my favorites. I finally got out the owner's manual and discovered all I had to do was push one button when a radio station I liked was on, and it was saved to my favorites list.
I tend to waste a lot of time looking at a task and putting it off, putting it off. I suffer from the Scarlett Syndrome - after all, tomorrow is another day. One thing that helped me there was when I ran across Mel Robbins 5 Second Rule. It's basically a 5 second countdown that pushes you to action. At first I thought it sounded too simple but gosh darn it, it's helped me to take action on things the first time rather than putting them off, If you're a procrastinator, I highly recommend checking this out. (Note: Not an affiliate link. I get $0 for putting this link here.)
Life is hard enough. Don't make it harder.
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