Ever have one of those days where you just want to sit on the couch and feel sorry for yourself? No. Well I don’t believe you. What is this picture of, you might be asking? My living room. Three days ago. This snapshot is a good depiction of what I like to call Hurricane Peebles. Like a storm had swept through (in the form of a two year old, six month old, 28 year old, cooking for brandings, etc.) and left a large pile of destruction. I am not embarrassed by this picture, because it was my reality at the time…a few episodes away from TLC’s Hoarding: Buried Alive. Ok. Maybe not THAT bad.

Social media is great for depicting the beauty in everybody’s lives…but sometimes it just isn’t the truth. So, here it is. My life isn’t always roses and sunshine. I get overwhelmed by the piles and piles of things to do. What did I do about this mess three days ago? Honestly, I sat on the couch for a few hours holding my baby boy feeling sorry for myself. I just didn’t know where to begin. I felt paralyzed. My kids are my pride and joy don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it is SO hard to feel like I get anything accomplished. A couple more hours passed and it was time for me to head into town to lead a fitness class. I found myself complaining to a friend about how I had to buy Fruit Loops and milk for my hubby because he was nice enough to watch the kiddos for me while I had some “me” time. I was DREADING coming back home to the mess I left behind, a reminder of all that I still had to do. All of the negativity and self-pity I had felt all day was completely erased when I walked into the living room as my husband was vacuuming the floors, a scented candle lit; both kids had taken a bath and they were smiling and laughing. Having one clean space was all it took to lift my bad attitude towards cleaning the rest of the house, towards dreading the to-do list. One amazing gesture from my husband let me have a sigh of relief. I’m not going to be featured on Hoarding: Buried Alive after all. My children are happy and healthy. I just had two awesome hours of working out. Life was looking up, as it should.

The mess in my living room is a great life lesson. There is always going to be a to-do list. Daily life is always going to bring messes. In the big scheme of things, it really isn’t the end of the world if the living room is a mess. There are much larger concerns in this life. Instead of becoming paralyzed by the to-do list in front of you, the work out you are trying to talk yourself out of, or the obstacles placed in your way, remind yourself that all it takes is one step in the right direction. Start with one little pile of stuff that is bugging you. Put your running shoes on and step outside. Let others give you a positive push. Don’t let the Hurricane bring you down!