Blogs | Can you delight in life’s chores?

By Briana | February 25th 2015

Can you delight in life’s chores?

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We’ve been enjoying lots of snow storms here in Boulder, it’s the perfect excuse for me to cozy up near a fire to get some major work done.  I have a bunch of really exciting projects happening this year and there is a lot to do for them. . . and then there’s Instagram.

Do you ever feel like you kinda “have” to participate in something for the betterment of your business or family or health, but you have a lot of resistance to it?  That’s how I’ve felt about Instagram for about a year.  In fact I was a little indignant about the fact that new social media platforms forced me to participate or be left behind (not a very empowered place to be coming from).

So on top of all my other projects I (begrudgingly) started my Instagram accounts.  I would post on there, but without any real feeling of satisfaction – so I’m pretty sure my accounts reflected that.

Then something switched inside of me, I realized that Instagram is just an ongoing art project!  Something that I could put creative energy into in a new way.  After that, it instantly became something I did with pleasure rather than a chore.

The option of enjoyment was always available, and yet I had to consciously choose it.  And until I did, it felt impossible to have that experience. The choice had to come first.

We don’t know the extent of the joy available until we choose it. – Tweet it 

This applies to all areas of our life. When we chose to make the best of it, sometimes these “chores” become the best things in our lives.

I’m not going to pretend that my life is all Instagram art, blog posts, yoga and photoshoots, it’s not.  There are things like running our quarterly numbers and calculating bonuses that take a lot of concentration and a ton of time.

I used to dread it when I had quarterlies on my calendar.  But now I set myself up to appreciate it the best I can: good music, hot mocha, and my favorite cozy clothes.  It’s all I schedule for the day so I have enough time to do it without stressing and if I get done early I go on a hike or cuddle with my baby.

It’s made all the difference.

Making a choice to cultivate a positive atmosphere around tasks that aren’t your favorite, definitely changes the relationship to those tasks.  So even if you can’t find intrinsic excitement and love for every part of your life, you can choose to create it.

For the love of art in every part of life,

Briana

Ps. Follow me on Instagram @brianaborten

 

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