I am exhausted and sore. It has been two days of hauling mulch and over 4 days taming the jungle in our backyard. But it is finally finished. I’m going to be relatively short because there are two important things I kept telling myself while I was moving over 10 yards of mulch by hand the last two days.
One Shovel Full and One Cart Full at a Time
Every trip back to the pile of mulch was a moment to reflect on just how much was left to move. It could’ve been disheartening. I could’ve made me delay, avoid, or even quit the rest of the job. But it didn’t. And the reason why is because I kept telling myself, “It’s just one shovel full and one cart full at a time.” I knew if I was consistent and steadfast, the job would get done. And so it did.
Many times in my life I have let great be the enemy of good. I’ve looked at massive undertakings like this and either avoided them because they would ‘be too much work’ or started on them only to over complicate things and grow tired or discouraged of them and quit. In reality, I just needed to move one shovel full and one cart full at a time to be successful.
It Gets Easier as You Go
After the cart was full, I needed to push/pull it up two ramps and a highly pitched backyard to get to the final resting place of that load of mulch. What became painfully obvious early on was that the lower level was easier than the highest. It involved less distance uphill I had to move the load. This meant that over time, each successive load became an easier task. Now this isn’t always the case with every large undertaking. Sometimes there are intermediate steps that require much more effort and time. However, it still remains that if you get past them, it gets easier again. Kind of like dragging a load of mulch uphill and then getting to walk downhill with an empty cart!
Needless to say, as my body became more tired and sore, this mantra kept me moving toward the final goal. And we got there. The jungle has been tamed!
How it started...
How it ended up!
As Day 21 comes to a close, I know now that Day 22 will require some rest and relaxation. There’s a shop to build in the garage!
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