No substitute for a great cup of water

Yesterday, after looking at my 5X wrist band for more weeks and I’d like to admit, I finally got down into our basement /crawlspace. My mission: replace our water system’s filters. To be honest, the water had started to taste bad a few weeks ago. My wife, Donna Lee said our water seemed to even have a little chlorine smell. I finally went into action.

Getting down to the water filter is the hard part. It’s a generous crawlspace. I don’t have to crawl. I can walk bending over. But it’s dark and damp. I have to crawl through a small 30’x36′ space on my knees, pull one foot through and then the other. It’s tough.

I had my work gloves, head light, and my new 10′ and 24′ filters. I even had a new LED light that I could easily install that would do a better job of lighting up the dark space.

I was afraid the shorter of the two, the 10-inch filter, wasn’t right. When I took the old one out, sure enough, it didn’t look much like the new one. On closer examination and testing, I discovered it would work just fine.

After crawling in and out of our “basement” a couple of times, I had everything back together, came into the house, turned the water back on, let it run for a few minutes, and took a sip. The water tasted so much better!

The lesson I learned, one more time, from this experience is the anticipation of the experience that seems so daunting can be blown out of all proportion when compared to the reality of how difficult it is to actually get the job done. In other words, why did I dread the filter project? And let that dread keep me stuck, make me procrastinate, drink less than desirable water for so long? The feeling of achievement after getting it done and tasting that sweet cup of water sure outweighs the dread and fear of successfully completing the project.

The action I call you to take is look at your 5X wristband if you have one. If not, take a piece of paper, a red pen, draw a circle and write 5X in the middle of it. Then, write underneath the circle your 5X project you’ve been procrastinating on. Be honest. You must have one or more. I know I still have a few. Now, go into action. When you’re finished, you can give yourself a high five. Your wife, your husband, boss or coworkers may join you in your celebration. Make another homemade red dot, put it up where it’s visible with your new project’s name on it and get cracking!

The benefit you will gain is “the sweet taste” of the continuing feeling of achievement and personal mastery.

“Stop dread. Go into action instead.”