Increase Your Energy By Taking the First Step

Lexi sunbathing on the newly clean balcony!

My family has been living in our current apartment for a year now and believe it or not I am still not finished unpacking all of our things. The main area that needed attending to was the balcony which was basically being used as storage. I had many days when I glanced at all the boxes and miscellaneous objects and decided I just couldn’t deal with going through all of things. Everyday life has kept me busy enough, working full-time, taking care of my son, and doing the usual everyday housework. I had nothing left for the “big” projects. My mother made the suggestion that I just move the objects into three piles and that would be a good enough start. One pile for my belongings, one for my husband, and one for my sister. Breaking the project down into that simple step somehow made it seem more manageable. One beautiful sunny day I decided to tackle the dreaded balcony. My husband was occupying my two year old son and I decided to go for it. Better late than never.

As I began going through the items and moving them into to piles I realized that many of the things weren’t even mine. I had been so afraid to face my junk and have to figure out where to put everything. It turns out that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had made it out to be in my mind. With each item I sorted I felt more energized to move onto the next item. There is amazing power in taking the first step. After that each step becomes easier and easier. When I was done organizing the balcony I took it a step further and threw out what I didn’t want anymore. I found a new home inside apartment for the things I wanted to keep. When I was finished I felt accomplished and empowered. I wondered why I didn’t tackle this task a long time ago. When I become overwhelmed with a task or when I find myself avoiding doing something I remember my experience with the balcony and tell myself to just take the first step. The first step may simply be getting off the couch but it’s progress and will ultimately give you the energy to get the job done.