This past month or so has been comfortable.

Painfully comfortable.

My job is plugging away at a manageable pace. Regularly-scheduled activities have taken a hiatus during the summer, so less commitments. People are out of town, so less visiting.

I’ve had a lot of downtime. A lot of time to spend however I please. So you’d think I’d be productive. I’d write more, I’d read more, I’d get things organized. But do you know what disappears when all that time shows up?

Motivation.

I have so much time, I tell myself. I can work on that later. But later never comes.

“If you want something done, ask a busy person.” An old colleague used to say that. But isn’t it true? When I’m busy, I’m in motion and can knock off to-dos like a rockstar. Once I’m in motion, it’s easy to keep going.

This is not news, really. In fact, this is Newton’s Frist Law of Motion:
Objects that are in motion, stay in motion.
Objects that are at rest, stay at rest.
(Thank you high school science!)

It takes more energy to start moving than it does to keep moving.

And lately, I’ve been that object at rest. And, oh boy, do I ever want to stay at rest. Even pulling out the computer to type out this – something that I’ve been thinking about for days – felt like the biggest challenge. But now here I am, typing away and wondering why it took me so long to do this. I’ve pulled out my computer to do other things…like check Facebook and watch Michelle Obama sing in a car a few times. But typing out these thoughts? That felt like a mountain of a task.

So I need to get out of my comfort zone. I need to be that object in motion, that busy person. Not crazy busy, I’m over that, but busy enough. Busy enough to stay a bit uncomfortable and stay motivated. Busy enough to choose creating rather than consuming. Busy enough to choose moving rather than resting. Busy enough to choose butterflies rather than…well…not choosing butterflies.