When I was a teenager one of the things I hated most was cutting the grass. The entire weekend it hung over me. I’d procrastinate getting started until Sunday half an hour before dark, then stop with only a fraction of the yard done.
Monday after school I’d procrastinate again and wait until dusk. Tuesday, same thing. I’d finally finish Wednesday, a few days before I’d need to start over.
In my mind, cutting the grass was this huge, ugly project that took four days to complete. This went on for years.
Then, one Saturday morning, I felt motivated. I knocked out the grass in two hours and was done by 10 a.m. For the first time in years, I lived a summer weekend without the lawn hanging over my head, and as a bonus, I had my evenings free the first half of the week.
It was as though the size of the lawn had been reduced by three quarters. A four-day job pared down to two hours because of a simple attitude shift.
The next Saturday, I wasn’t feeling as motivated and slipped back into my old routine. Only this time, it was worse because I knew better. The following weekend, I knocked it out early again.
For the rest of the summer, I cut the grass early Saturday and was always in a good mood because I didn’t have this thing hanging over my head. Replacing gloom with relief improved every area of my life, including my relationships. People are drawn to cheerfulness after all. It turned out that the way I chose to start mowing the lawn became the catalysts for a bump in my self-esteem.
But the story doesn’t end there.
It seems that almost no one actually likes cutting grass. Even after I decided to take control and knock it out Saturday mornings, I didn’t actually like it. Then, something began to change in what I associated with the chore.
Where mowing the lawn once represented dread, I began to associate a feeling of satisfaction. That satisfaction evolved into pride which encouraged me to start paying more attention to detail.
The attention to detail resulted in comments from neighbors like “you’ve got the best looking lawn on the block” which became more pride and satisfaction. I may never have actually liked the work, but I began to like the way the work made me feel.
It occurred to me that when you don’t mind doing something other people don’t like to do, you can charge a little extra to do it for them. I started a lawn service that grew into a landscaping business that made paying for college possible. It also kept me tan and fit.
That simple change in attitude gave me more self-esteem and a college education. Not bad for a decision based on having a little extra motivation one Saturday morning.
