One Snowball at a Time

I sigh.  Alot.  As a direct result of being over analytical, I get frustrated or just plain stuck and I sigh.  While its true that between my family, my home and my job I don't often have time to think; however, given a moment of peace, a quiet lull or an hour under the dryer at the hairdresser -- my contemplative self take over and then... I sigh.

What do I think about that causes so much frustration?  Oh, a bit of everything. Providing for the family with limited means, having limited opportunities to spend quality time with my hubby, paying the bills, the overdue oil change, the missing shingles on the roof, my middle that jiggles, my job, my clients and so on, and so on.  Is it any wonder why I sigh all the time?  Its overwhelming to think of the mountain of responsibilities and the shortage of time and resources to address it all.

Its not that so much is wrong per se, but there's so much to do and none of it is simple.  Its a mountain of things to do that is my life and as such it begs the question:  What does it actually take to change your life?

A new look can be achieved by going shopping.  A new job can take care of maybe money, health insurance and provide a semblance of security.  Weeks of dieting or months or working out can change your body and your health... or a plastic surgeon can give you similar results with the added benefit of instant gratification.  Therein lies the problem.  I want it all and right now, please.

Maybe I watched too much I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched as a kid and I am applying the expectation that changing your life can come with a blink or a twitch and a really cheesy sound effect.  I should know better.

More than 10 years ago I quit smoking.  That was not easy.  Going in I knew that 16 years of smoking wouldn't go away instantly, and I would have to work at it, which I did.  I tried everything:  the gum (yuck), the patches and drinking lots of water (and then Entenmann's Rich Frosted Donuts, but that's another story).  Ultimately, it was the one cigarette, one day at a time approach that worked.  I had to fight each urge to smoke and decide not to - one at a time.

I guess that how I should approach changing my life - one bit at a time.  Concentrating on everything means concentrating on nothing - which has not been successful thus far.  I just spin my wheels and go nowhere.  Concentrate instead on one item and work at it a little everyday -- making the consistent effort to focus on one thing until its resolved before tackling the next.  Kind of like the debt snowball...

If you've never heard of it, the debt snowball method of paying off your debts requires that you pay down one credit card and when its paid off, you apply those funds to the next credit card and so on until the snowball wipes out all your debt.  The key is to start with the smallest bill first, the one that will encourage you to go on.

I suppose changing your life can follow the same principle:  start with the area that will yield the greatest result and let it encourage you to go on.  Then watch it snowball, one day at a time.