This week has been busy and starting to feel long enough that I’m not even sure what day it is. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out but it is a little disconcerting.
I hiked on Saturday and found myself and my bum leg on a rather steep stretch of hill. While better than a month ago, the knee and shin don’t always work together well so that hill was challenging. Rather than worry about it, I just put my head down and kept my eyes on the ground so the sheer steepness and difficulty wouldn’t intimidate me too much.
I made it up with no trouble and was quite proud of this small victory.
This has more or less been my approach to this week. I have mostly been away from home. When I do go home, I feed the cat and go to bed. Work has been busy. I look forward to the quieter days ahead when I can sit at a desk and dig into my to-do pile.
Meanwhile, I’m keeping my head down while I push up the hill.
The bright side is that many hours in the car have given me podcast listening time. The bad news is that creative projects aren’t going so well. It’s hard to feel inspired when you’re in constant motion and tired.
It seems the theme lately has been “I just have to get through THIS and things will be better.” Yet, I get through “THIS” and there’s always something else to distract and slow me down.
Does this sound familiar to you? Can you relate to the sentiment that if it’s not one thing it’s something else?
I’m certain I’m in good company here.
This brings me back to something I wrote earlier this year that encourages us to just do whatever it is we need or want to do because time waits for no one. You can read it here. I actually wrote that story for me because it was something I needed to read at the time.
Evidently, I still need the pep talk because it’s as relevant today as it was last month.
In one of the podcasts I listened to today, I heard an author say that she was having trouble writing and set a goal for herself to write one word a day. Just one. Some days, she literally wrote one word or two. Some days she wrote a thousand words. But in the days she couldn’t muster much, at least she was still doing something.
I liked this.
We tend to believe that we have to do the big jobs for it to count. If you never start a big project because you think there’s no time, that’s not nearly as effective as setting ten small goals and actually chipping away at them.
Remember, even when the hills are steep and especially when the hills are steep, it’s a good idea to keep your head down and focus on one foot in front of the other.
Now excuse me while I go figure out what day it is!
PS- Before you ask, the featured picture is from the hike but not of the hill. It never occurred to me to document that segment of the trail!
This post reminds me of two things. One is this saying: “The light at the end of the tunnel is really just another train headed your way.” As you wrote, we often feel “… if I can just get through this…”, but alas. The sentence’s sentiment is real (to me), but the sentence does make me smile. Perhaps the key is keeping a sense of humor. The second thing is this: My uncle had a great philosophy and that was to just fix one thing a day. He was referring to household jobs. In general, I take the weekends off, but I have found his philosophy to be helpful to me – and before I know it, I have lots of things done! Today’s job is to recharge our Ring camera battery.
Yes! Doing one thing doesn’t sound so bad but once you get going you can usually accomplish a lot! That one thing philosophy is wise.
Funny you should mention the train quote because I almost used it and decided maybe I needed to focus on the positive! Haha.
Old Santa Susana Stage Road in chatsworth CA
I looked and it is actually steps in the sandstone. It was so steep they called it Devils Slide.
Wow! I’ll look it up!
Very good advice in this post, ma’m. And your hill experience reminds me of when I was going through it with my knee. Didn’t know I had a bum knee until I was on the stagecoach trail…it’s the actual trail made by stagecoaches back in the 1800s or whenever and the ground is solid rock now and it’s these huge steps up and down. Not stairs, but just steps from level to level if that makes sense. Anyway, oh my knee…my knee. I didn’t think we’d ever get down. And then I guess my knee was still bothering me on the next hike we did. Never bothered me going up, but going down, every step was excruciating. But, I had no choice. Gotta get down somehow. Might have to crawl or be carried on a stretcher, but you’ve gotta get down to the car. Luckily I made it and didn’t have to crawl or be carried. But yah, it’s amazing what we can do if we put our head down and set our mind.
Oh my gosh! That all sounds awful! I really don’t want to be carried out so I’m like you – keep going!
So where were you? Where is this stagecoach made trail?
And I see the trail was made FOR the stagecoach not BY the stagecoach. Big difference.
It’s still cool though!
You have the gift, my dear friend, of being able to figure out FOR YOURSELF how best to get through each day. That you can communicate those thoughts so cogently is a blessing for US. Podcasts are an inspiration. Writing one word a day sounds like something beyond rational consideration. Can’t imagine much communication would ever take place at that rate. Live EACH day to the fullest. Keep writing and sharing. And find time to fit in flying lessons.
Haha. You and those flying lessons!
Here’s the thing: sometimes we have to bargain with ourselves. We tell ourselves we just have to do a little, basically just show up and do one small thing. Yet, once we start, it’s easy to keep going. We say one word but that can easily become a thousand. If we just write the one word, well, at least we showed up and tried.
The woman who set that one word a day rule for herself ended up finishing her book in about three months. That’s pretty good!
Sometimes we just have to find ways to cope and then be brave enough to show up for ourselves and do it.
I can’t imagine going the way you are now, though I know I did it when I was younger! Don’t miss it. However, I’ve been volunteering myself a lot lately and it’s starting to strain me. Plus we’re planning a road trip soon—except it isn’t planned at all! 😩 Yep, will get through it, a little at a time, with sanity breaks in between.🙂
It ebbs and flows. This week was bad, next week looks a little easier. I need to ditch a volunteer activity even though I hate to say it. I know lots of people who are way busier than me but that is not the life I want. Good for them but I have hobbies and interests and need time to exercise and rest!
Do you know where you’re headed on this road trip?
We all need to set some priorities.
We’re heading north to Banff, but also around the Pacific Northwest. I would be loosy-goosy about it, but hubby and others need firmer plans. Plus, camping places often require advance reservations these days.
Lovely. I prefer loosy-goosy travel but we have to live in the world we wake up in and it doesn’t always work.
I totally get that approach of one foot in front of the other or taking things one day at a time. Sometimes it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it just helps to focus on taking baby steps. That’s my life at the moment! Hope you get some down time this weekend.
You have a little one. That’s your life for the foreseeable future!
The writing advice made me think of how when I’m out of things to say, I pick an old photo and just freewrite for 15 minutes. I bang out whatever comes to mind with no judgment. Later I edit it into something and publish it.
That’s a good approach! That’s basically what I do as well although I have been too tired to even manage that. Using this blog as a daily writing exercise is awesome until I run out of steam!