Dear Friends,

In our perfectionism we try to put the cart before the horse. It is our “all or nothing” attitudes that put us in this situation. We want what we want and we want it now! The main problem is that we don’t know where to start! There is no game board for getting our homes in order.

In our perfectionism we try to do several things at one time and never really succeed at finishing any of them. This is my main reason for using a timer and concentrating on one blessing at one time. But what happens when you don’t even feel like starting and you get overwhelmed at even the thought of doing anything.

When I woke up one New Years Day in 1999 and made the decision that I wanted to get organized; I never dreamed that it would happen(in the first place) or that the simple babysteps that I have implemented for myself would help so many others. I just knew that I wanted more for me and I set out trying to find a way to make it work for me (someone that gets overwhelmed easily). I began by shining my sink. It was a simple task that did not overpower me. When I finished the sink; that shiny sink gave me hope. It was also faith in myself. I accomplished something and I was keeping it shining and not falling back into my old ways. By establishing one habit a month I did not overburden myself with too much too fast. My whole goal in the process was to be nice to me and not push too hard by allowing my perfectionism to want
it all NOW!

Yes I wanted to live in a clean house and yes I could clean like a banshee but it would not stay that way for long. I just wanted a home that would magically stay looking nice. You know the old sitcom “Bewitched” I just want to wiggle my nose and make it happen. The problem with all of this thinking was I didn’t factor in that I needed to get up on my feet and do something.

I was so tried of feeling frumpy; I didn’t even realize I was feeling this way. That is, until I started practicing my new habit of getting up and getting dressed to lace up shoes. Just getting dressed when I first got up in the morning set me on a positive note for the whole day; my shoes were empowering, feeling good about myself was also another powerful epiphany. I was not ashamed to answer my door. I could run outside at a moment’s notice. I didn’t have an excuse anymore. My shoes were on my feet. I didn’t have to hunt for them. Any time a FlyBaby needs to take two or three extra steps to find something, we soon get sidetracked and forget about what we intended to do in the first place. Just putting on my shoes helped to put an end to my internal excuse or let’s just call it like it is, WHINING!

I may not have gotten much else done in my home in the beginning but I was seeing progress and a small ray of hope in my shiny sink. It was a reflection of what I could be and was becoming! I proved that every time I walked into my bathroom and caught a reflection of myself in the mirror. WOW! I didn’t scare myself. HEY I looked pretty good! It is just like going into the kitchen and seeing that empty glimmering sink! I didn’t have to play catch up just to cook dinner. It was like starting at go and not having to back up five steps; clean off the table, empty the dishwasher, wash last night dishes, take out the trash and clean off the stove. My sink was shining because I did that for me. I hated being faced with those five things before ever starting!

So do you see how NOT having to go backward before you start forward is such a hopeful moment for us?

I want for you what I have; Peace. This peace came because I chose to be kind to myself for the first time in my life. Now go get dressed to your lace up shoes!

FLYing is all about loving yourself. When you are dressing to shoes first thing in the morning you are really showing yourself the love that you deserve!

FlyLady