Reflections on Work & Chester Copperpot

Recently I have been reflecting on Work.  Seems like I'm doing more of it than playing...and there are times when I resent those that seem to prioritize Play over Work.  I find myself wondering why I resent it when it's clearly my personal choice, as well as why I choose to do it.

Here's a story from this evening on this very topic:
I got up & made lunch for JN & I (read: put prepared stuff in our lunchboxes...no cooking this early!), got in the shower, went to work.  Over my lunch hour I worked on a take-home test for my Developmental Psych class (clearly the result of a prior choice to Play rather than Work).  I left work 15 minutes early to come home & finish up the take-home test while eating a quick dinner, then zipped off to class, to arrive 10 minutes late due to my aforementioned choice to Play rather than Work.  We got out of class an hour early, so I came home & realized the state of our apartment was stressing me out.  JN got home not long after, and I begged him to take the next 20 minutes and just help me clean up.  I believe I got about 5 minutes before a beer was procured & a position on the couch with the laptop was taken.  Hoo boy... NOT COOL. It should be noted that a good chunk of the mess was mine, but it seriously would have taken about 10 minutes of us both working together to get it done. 

So why did i get so mad?  I mean, it's not like we had a knock-down-drag-out or anything over it, but i was pretty perturbed.  I could have chosen to sit on the couch too...but there's something in me that can't relax in the midst of a cluttery mess.  Just ask my cousin Sarah...I dont remember how old we were, but I once cleaned her terribly messy room (complete with reorganizing her closet) during a sleepover at her house.  We had fun & stayed up till all hours, but then once she fell asleep & couldnt fall asleep so I cleaned.  What weirdo kid does that??  One with issues. (raises hand)

Clearly, I am willing to work for peace of mind.  So where is my motivation to work for other things, say, personal fitness?  Obviously the number on the scale isnt keeping me up at night (although the resulting sleep apnea & snoring is keeping my husband up).

I read an interesting quote by Thomas Edison the other day regarding this subject of Work:
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work."

And today I read this post on the blog of a girl I admire from afar (I dont know her personally, only through her posts on Weddingbee.com and her blog).  She mentions a book written by Amy Chua on the topic of parenting styles.  It's an interesting topic to me...but even more so, because not long ago I was watching an interview with Ms. Chua on KCPT (public tv channel in KC).  I listened to a good portion of the interview but it was incredibly painful....my perception was that she was the type of person not to actually listen to what people were saying, but to wait for them to stop talking.  And she didn't always do that either!  Lots of interrupting of the interviewer.  She was very...how do i put i...not forceful per se, but definitely overpowering and steamrollerish during the interview.  I ended up changing the channel because the manner of discussion was distracting me from the content of the discussion, and my blood pressure kept going up.  I hate hearing people argue (almost as much as I hate being sung to) and it was just painful.  But I digress.

In her blog post Ms. Penny refers to the Chinese parenting method described in the book, and reflects on how the approach differs from that of the stereotypical American. But, as Ms. Penny says, parenting wasn't the point of her post & it's not the point of mine either.  The point was that Ms. Chua points out (looosely paraphrasing here) that skill is not usually the result of natural talent, that to get good at anything you have to work at it. Is that the same thing as to say to find success or opportunity you have to work at it?

You can blame my reflective mood on my philosophy/ethics class yesterday evening. :) 

So...here's my point.
I'm working my butt off to keep my house clean-ish so I can sleep at night.
I'm going to school part time so I can go to school full time so I can make a living doing something that has a chance at making the world a better place.
Both of these things, I'm motivated to do.
I'm working out with Freda each week, sometimes twice, all times looking like a whale with legs & an asthma problem....but i am not really motivated to do it...not REALLY.  I dont look forward to it.  Not like I look forward to finally be able to pursue my education without having to earn a living at the same time.  Not like I look forward to falling into bed at night exhausted but with the peace of mind that accompanies the slight smell of bleach in the air and the lullaby of the dishwasher running (does anyone else associate that noise with a clean kitchen??).

All of this to say...What in the heck can i do to make myself WANT TO WORK OUT?  I want to look forward to it!  And friends, I do NOT look forward to working out.  Not at all.  I want to look forward to it in the same way I look forward to having coldstone for dessert.

I know.  We all have dreams.  Chester Copperpot wanted to find One-Eyed Willie, and I want to find my Motivation to Move.  If the Goonies can do it, why not me? :)