Conserve your energy for worthwhile things

Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. – Robert Service

Yesterday was a pretty productive day.  Starting out with organizing my desk drawer really kick started the day.  A five mile run with my hubby topped off the great morning.  I had so much energy.  I was able to get through paying bills and some filing.  I hung my pictures from the contest I had entered earlier this summer.  In crept annoyance #1.  As I was putting the pictures into the frames selfishly admiring the picture I really thought should have won.  I realized, based on where they had the tag on the picture, they had displayed it upside down.  How incredibly petty of me to think that is why I didn't win!  Ha, ha, ha!  I got over that petty annoyance and hung the picture "the right way" on my wall and moved on to filing papers.

Filing papers is a big project that requires lots of energy.  In enters annoyance #2 - an envelope came in the mail that really irritated me.  It's not so much what the letter was, it was the fact that it annoyed me so much.  At least I was able to redirect and  use the energy to be ruthless in sorting out junk papers in my filing pile.  I kept at the filing so long I was distracted from how annoyed I was.  I guess that's a good thing!  Seeing my clear desk and having room to work made it worthwhile.

What is it about human nature that turns unresolved issues into insomnia?  In enters annoyance #3 - all of a sudden at 12:30 am, my thoughts about annoyance #2 woke me up and kept me up the rest of the night.  I even got up for a while, let Copper outside, admired the stars, logged into Facebook, went back to bed, and tossed and turned, tossed and turned, tossed and turned...what the heck?  That's so not worthwhile!

When there is an unresolved issue or problem - I'm reminded of these four steps to finding a solution.

1. Determine what is it that I'm really worried about? 
2. What can I do about it?
3. Decide what to do.
4. Get busy doing what I decided to do.  

See, isn't that easy???  Time to work through my unresolved issues about my #2 annoyance.  I think I'll also  plan my nap time for the day, of course it will have to be worked in around the Packer game.  As Copper always reminds me - a nap is a worthwhile thing!  Petty annoyances are not...all they do is create cloudy thinking and sleepless nights.

A nice reminder of the "amateur
contest"- there's always more to learn!

Awe - he's always ready for an adventure.

Crazy afternoon clouds!  Nature's creativity with
lots of energy going in so many directions!

Copper can even nap standing up!

Not so pretty late afternoon clouds!
That's how ugly my night of sleep was
thinking about petty things!

Ah...a nap sounds good!
As Mother Goose rhyme goes -
For every ailment under the sun,
There's a remedy, or there is none;
If there be one, try to find it;
If there be none, never mind it.