The Need to Finish
We suffer from an addiction to completion. We love to cross things off the to do list. Our self worth is tied to the number of check marks that appear on that list at the end of the day. We bemoan and avoid projects, like the laundry, that are never done. “Why should I even bother with this, I’ll never finish.”
Yoga, especially the practice of weaving intentional movement into the fabric of our day, can help rid us of our need to finish. When we do something to move, stretch or strengthen our muscles every hour or two, we discover the journey that is missed when we cram all of our exercise into a single thirty-minute workout we can check off our list.
As you mindfully move your body throughout the day, may you be reminded of the joy that comes only from the journey. May this awareness erode the pressure you feel to finish and embolden you to take a journey that has no destination.
It’s funny because I like doing laundry because to me it does have an end. I can wash, dry, and fold everything in the baskets and I’m usually done for a week, whereas meals happen three times a day, there’s always more I could move and clean when wiping down counters, bills and paperwork are neverending, and the sink always seems to have a collection of dishes in it (and unlike the laundry basket, I have to deal w/ it instead of waiting until it’s full!).
So funny, Dee. Our laundry baskets seem magically fill up on the very day I do “all” the laundry, so it robs me of a sense of completion. I completely agree about all of the dishes though! At least we’re not alone, huh?!