Work is Only Work If You Fear It

Kate made a good point today. People put off work, they think, because they don't want to do it. Because it might be uncomfortable or difficult. There's the fear of the unknown to contend with when you're doing something new. But ultimately you procrastinate because there are many other things you'd rather be doing instead.

However, once you give in and get to work, it's never as bad as you thought it would be. Once you're working, that is what you're spending your time doing. You could be doing any number of things, and that is what you've chosen. And it's fine. And sometimes you end up actually enjoying it.

Proud of You, Kate

Just a quick entry to put out into the ether how proud I am of Kate. Since leaving Renegade she's done a lot of soul-searching, much of which you all have been privy to in her entries. It's been a difficult trek, one that still poses challenges, but one that Kate's stuck through. In the process she's started her own wedding and event photography business, taken on a part time job photographing newborns, is beginning to foray into network marketing with Arbonne cosmetics, and has registered successfully to be a substitute teacher in Baltimore County (Baltimore City is next.) And on top of all that she's now studying for the Praxis exam so that she can begin training as an elementary ed or special ed teacher. That's a LOT of stuff! But she's handling it in spades.

I'm proud of you, Sweetie. Keep kickin' ass (and taking photographs of it in makeup, and then instructing it on how to avoid getting its ass kicked again.)

The Burn Lets You Know It's Working

As I think I said in an earlier post, pain is not my thing. I don't necessarily go out of my way to avoid it, but I definitely don't seek it out. But there is one sort of pain that actually feels great.

No! Not that. Jeez, what? No!* I'm talking about the all-over body buzz you get after a really good day of hard work. It's a pain you wear as a badge of honor. As a reminder that you (hopefully) accomplished something that day. Or even if you didn't, you at least put yourself in forward motion. You worked and slaved, doing whatever important or unimportant thing you did, and you are left with a fully tactile reminder for at least the next few days.

Same thing with working out. You know you got things right at the gym or the courts or the pool or the laser tag tournament when you wake up sore and stiff the next morning. When "a little hair of the dog that bit ya" would actually send you to the hospital. That's a good workout. Pain is your bodies way of telling you that something needed fixing, and you broke out the right tools.

The moral is, just like peroxide on a gaping flesh wound, you have to feel the burn in order to know it's working.


*Sorry. No judgment here. If that's your sort of thing, have at it. As long as you, and her and her, and him, the hermit crab and that roving band of gypsies are okay with it, and no one gets hurt any more than they sign on for, knock yourself out (or have them knock you out.)