The Mind Trick That Will Change Your To-do List

I was sitting there on the couch last evening, making my usual to-do list for the day, and the thought just kind of struck me. Here I am, making this list of things that I have to do. Already stressing somewhat over the demands of the next day, and already forgetting the most important part of motherhood. That is when it hit me.

This to-do list that I have, these are things that I get to do!

I get to buy groceries tomorrow.

That electric bill that is due tomorrow, I get to pay it!

I get to clean the bathrooms tomorrow; I even get to clean two of them!

As I sat mulling this over in my mind, realizing what it meant, I was overcome with thankfulness.

I have money to buy groceries with, a vehicle that will take me to the stores, heck, I even have my choice of produce so conveniently located in stores for me. I don’t have the worry that comes with having to grow my own food to survive. It’s right there for me. All I have to do is go and get it.

That electric bill means that we have lights to see with in the dark, I don’t have to light a bunch of candles to be able to see as the evening sun fades away. It means I have a heater that keeps our home warm. Because of that electric bill, I am able to have a washing machine, an oven, a refrigerator. It means I don’t have to cook over a campfire. (Now don’t get me wrong, I do love cooking over a campfire… every once in a while. Emphasis on a while.) It means I have hot water to wash with at the turn of a knob.

Those bathrooms I get to clean? How many times more enjoyable is it to use a toilet than to dig a hole outside, in the cold dark?

Look through your entire list of chores.

What are some of the things you get to do?

Do you have floors to mop? Dinner to make? Homework to help with? Trash to take out? Mashed potatoes to clean off the wall? If your chores look something like that, trust me, friend, you have so much to be grateful for!

Perhaps we have become so used to what we have that we are no longer grateful for it.

Friends, I encourage you to take a close list at your to-do list. Break each item down so that you can see the blessings behind it; there will be a lot of them!

Consider renaming your To-Do List. I’ve started calling mine my Get To-Do List. The effect it has on my perspective is tremendous.

Try it! You’ll be just as amazed as I was!

So friend, what is it that you get to do today?

~N