Thought of the Jay!: OK now I’m motivated... but where’s MY pen?

Generally speaking, I’m a pretty motivated guy. I get done what I need to and hopefully a little more, but at the same time I’m aware that none of my actions are leading towards a cure for cancer. So often, I need to find a little extra motivation to keep me going. That extra little kick to help keep my interest. When I got bored of taking little runs around the neighborhood I signed up for a marathon. After that, I couldn't go back to just running around the neighborhood, so I signed up for the Tough Mudder. Having a little something extra that you are working towards helps keep the juices flowing. With a little creativity you can always find an activity or idea that can distract your mind from the realities of your current situation and keep you moving in the right direction. The past few weeks at work have been a little more hectic than usual, but luckily, fate gave me a little something to use as a motivator. The little something extra was a classic whodunit. ~ Who stole my pen?

"No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one." ~ Jessica Savitch

So the walk to my desk that morning was nice and quiet. I was able to plop into my chair and drink my coffee in peace and quiet as I waited for my computer to fully load. I dismissed all of my calendar reminders that expired, deleted the junk that collected in my inbox, and prepared myself to jump into my workload. Typically I sip on my coffee throughout the morning, but this morning I decided to to sit back and enjoy my coffee. I knew my day was going to be hectic so why not at least enjoy all of my coffee while it is still hot? Well... it was go time ~ time to get to work. I grabbed the large post-it pad I use to keep myself on task and my pen. As I grabbed my pen the top fell off. My pen was broken!

"Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward." ~ Victor Kiam

This pen was special. A while back, a very small group of us at work got the same pen. Since the pens were so nice we ended up each getting a couple of them. In meetings, others began to comment about how they liked the pens and slowly the pen circle began to grow. At this point, about ten or so have the pen. It was not a very expensive pen but it looked nice, felt good in my hand, and wrote well. I’ve had this pen for quite a while. In fact, this was the first pen that I’ve kept around long enough to need ink refills. I really liked that pen...

"Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done,it's always your choice." ~ Wayne Dyer

Bummed that my pen was broken, I found it difficult to find the motivation needed to really dive into my work. So I picked up my broken pen and admired it... the shiny exterior, the stylish etchings, the bar code sticker. HOLD ON! My pen didn’t have a bar code sticker! Upon further inspection this pen also had the original ink cartridge, not the ink refill my pen had. This was not my pen! Someone, someone in the pen circle, had broken their pen and then switched it with my perfectly good pen. ~ Let the games begin! With great motivation I attacked my work. I was going to do whatever I could to get all of my work done because I had something that needed to be done. I am going to find my pen!

"Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." ~ Thomas Jefferson

OK, maybe I shouldn't have worried about the pen, but I did. And maybe I should have used something else to motivate me through my day, but I didn’t. I used what I was dealt. Everyday we face obstacles in life, what we do with them is up to us.

"Either you run the day or the day runs you." ~ Jim Rohn

To date I still have not found my pen... but I’m still looking! And when I find the pen, because I will find the pen, the satisfaction will be sweet but it won't be end the end of my story. I'll still face obstacles both large and small that will need to conquered and most likely I'll need something new to keep me motivated... but I'll find something to keep me going!