The Mundane

When I was growing up, I always went to lessons.  There were piano lessons, voice lessons, ballet lessons.  My parents always believed in helping us to develop through lessons.  At the time, I wasn't all that concerned about seeing results.  There were many things in my life where I could measure progress, I was in school after all. 

Out of school and staying home, it's harder to see completions and clear results.  Day after day I do many of the same things.  I clean the kitchen, I cook meals, I care for Leo and myself.  There's always the mounds of laundry and the house perpetually needs cleaning, because we live here.  There aren't many clear cut finishes to things, they just continue on forever.  There will always be laundry to do.  We will always need to wake up the next day and get ourselves ready and exercise. 

I think this is challenging.  I'm one who likes to see clear cut results.  To say, I completed a degree or planned this many conferences is concrete.  There is something concrete that is completed that just doesn't happen when you clean the kitchen day after day.  The kitchen's just clean and it will most likely be messy again in a matter of minutes. 

So I ask you, how do you stay motivated to do the things you can't see results from? 

With spring, I always think of setting new goals, of trying to be better.  One of mine is to sing more and to develop my voice.  It's one of those things that if I practice today, I will not see a drastic change tomorrow but if I keep practicing it will improve.  It's just a matter of getting there.

I think that it is these mundane things we do day after day that make all the difference.  If we exercise over time, our bodies will become stronger, my voice will become stronger and I will gradually improve.  It's just staying motivated to do it day after day in between. 


What do you do to stay motivated?