Are you stuck at home?<\/p>\n
Feeling cooped up?<\/p>\n
Me, too. I\u2019ve NEVER worked from home, so this is bizarro strange world to me.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s one member of our household who is thrilled about it; my dog, Bentley!<\/p>\n
He\u2019s getting multiple walks daily, and he\u2019s never left alone. He\u2019s got a permanent smile on.<\/p>\n
Lucky for him, he\u2019s oblivious to the challenge we humans are facing right now.<\/p>\n
But, I\u2019ve noticed something different about me, too, when I\u2019m walking Bentley.<\/p>\n
I appreciate it more! I\u2019m not in a hurry to \u201cget it over with,\u201d like I used to be.<\/p>\n
The sun\u2019s beating down on my face. I\u2019m breathing in the fresh air. And you know what? I\u2019m suddenly enormously grateful that I\u2019m able to enjoy the simple things in life.<\/p>\n
I think others are feeling it too. I live in a friendly neighborhood, but it\u2019s somehow even friendlier, now.<\/p>\n
When a neighbor walks by\u2014even on the other side of the street because we\u2019re all doing social distancing\u2014we\u2019re waving and saying hello to each other.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like, \u201cHello, fellow human!\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019re all in this together, after all.<\/p>\n
You know, I don\u2019t have all the answers about what life is going to look like when we come out the other end of this thing.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019ve decided I\u2019m going to look at this \u201cforced\u201d time spent at home as a blessing, and I\u2019m going to make the best of it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to read, I\u2019m going to learn, I\u2019m going to work hard and accomplish whatever I can, and perhaps most importantly, I\u2019m going to remember to take some time to appreciate the little things.<\/p>\n
What about you?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s tempting to sit around watching Netflix or staring at Facebook for hours, or just plain hibernating. It\u2019s tough to be disciplined at a time like this.<\/p>\n
Perhaps now, more than ever, it\u2019s wise to remember this sage advice from Jim Rohn:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n