Attitude Adjustment

He started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and he did
it.~Edgar A. Guest, It Couldn't Be Done

I've been tackling my house (in general, my laundry room in particular) with the wrong mindset.

There are some jobs that I do that I know are going to take some time and a whole lot of effort, but I don't mind them because I like the results. Cooking a good meal is one of them. Learning (which unfortunately doesn't come as easily sometimes as it used to) is another. With housekeeping, the results seem temporary at best, and under- or un-appreciated at the worst.

So what.

I'm not sure why I have such a bad attitude when it comes to this. I'd like to make a few guesses.

• I used to find routines and and predictability boring. I think there is a certain set of habitual actions that go into keeping order.
  
• I don't like jobs for which results are invisible. To dust where there was little or no dust seemed a waste of time and that together with the fact that I tend to overlook details meant it took an inch of dust to get my attention.
  
  I exaggerate. A little.
  
• I'm just not good at it. Anything for which we don't have a natural ability will take extra effort and concentration to become proficient doing it. I'm just as resistant as the next person struggling to tackle a skill they don't particularly enjoy.

So enough with the negativity. I have to change my mindset about this job I'm tackling, this purging of things unwanted or unnecessary. No more drill sargeant mentality and dread. I need to put on some good dancing music and keep my focus on my goal and dive in to clearing out the laundry room tomorrow. Then do it again next week with a different spot. And again the following week, and again and again until I'm good at it, and in one of those previously hated, but now oh, so coveted, routines.

I may just surprise myself and my family with what I can make happen.