I think cleaning your house is similar to decorating it: a) you are never finished and b) the more you do, the more other areas beg to be done.
I spent all day yesterday deep cleaning my house, and could do so again today. I moved the furniture, which exposed that the baseboards needed dusting, and when I knelt down to clean them I saw the inside windowsills were dirty, which of course beckoned me to clean the windows themselves...and on it went.
The same is true with decorating. You paint the walls, so then the furniture looks dated, and then you need a new pillow for the couch and an accent rug to pick up that color, and...you get the idea.
After investing considerable time working on something, it is easy to get discouraged by focusing on what else you could have done. It reminds me of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book where it never ends.
The same is true in a work setting where there is always more that could be done. My mantra is to strive for a state where: Everything is better than it was, but not as good as it could be. Always.
You'll become burnt out if you only look ahead, and you'll be in trouble if you only focus on what you have done. Try to make continual progress, AND acknowledge that you have made improvements already. Dust those blinds tomorrow while happily looking out those clean windows you washed today.
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
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