There is a better way: the joys of moving.....ugh!

Why the title "There is a better way"?

Well here I am. My first blog! This is something I've wanted to do for years, but FINALLY it has come to pass. Where's the champagne?!
I guess for my first post I should at least explain why I chose this title for my blog.
When I was a boy of 9 or 10 years old, my family lived in St. Louis, MO. A large bank there called Boatman's Bank was running an extensive marketing campaign during that time. At the end of each of their commercials there was a tag line that was sung. It was female voice simply singing the words, "There is a better way". The idea of there being a better way of doing things infatuated me. What if I looked at life that way? Well, that's pretty much been a theme of my life since. I tend to look at any situation with an attitude of:

"There is a better way... now, let's find it!"

-JBenjamin

Friday, January 11, 2008

the joys of moving.....ugh!

Well today is my last day in my wonderful loft apartment in downtown Elkhart. I will miss it. It is an 120 year old building full of character and windows. It has issues, but I still love it. I have enjoyed living downtown. It has always been a dream of mine and I guess I can now mark it off of my list of things I want to do before I die. Maybe a "Bucket List"...hmmmm....I need to see that movie.

As you know, when you move you discover just how much "stuff" you have. It also makes me wish I were MUCH more organized! I'm so good at organizing other people's lives and businesses, but somehow my own stuff still ends up being quite unorganized. Moving only magnifies it. Having said that, I am much more orgaized than I was years ago, but I want more. This brings me to the question that my dear life coach Gloria Swardenski asked me once long ago:

"When you are organized, what will it look like?" and "How will you know?"

Those questions have helped me bring better definition to my quest for organization. Sometimes we have this desire for a vague sense of something we want. It is often defined by what we see in other's. We look at our house and office and think.... "I have GOT to be more organized." So we shuffle a few things around and then move on. Then the whole scenario repeats itself over and over again. Then the guilt and shame begins. So why not take a moment and think about those two questions. Define your organization. Celebrate each move in that direction. Most importantly, remember that there are no rights or wrongs in what organization is. Do what works for you. Forget what your neighbor or coworker does. It only matters what is working for you!

Now, pardon me, I must go get organized.