I was listening to the radio the other day when the host brought up a quote. He said it was originally coined by Mark Twain and it said…
“Eat the frog first.”
Naturally what I did next was try to confirm it. I find myself doing that more and more these days with just about everything I read online.
What I found said, “The saying is widely linked to Twain, who supposedly said something like, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day”.
It was popularized by a motivational speaker named Brian Tracy. Tracy wrote a book called “Eat That Frog!” in 2001. It’s all about ways to stop procrastinating.
Basically it’s about doing that one project you have that you don’t want to do and doing it first thing in the morning! That way, everything else will be easier or more enjoyable for you. As Mark Twain said, “Nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
Can you relate?
I’m sure I’m not the only one with things I don’t want to do during the day.
Maybe you have to clean the bathroom or call the oral surgeon to schedule that root canal. Yikes! Tell the truth: you put it off, don’t you?
My wife and I both have our chores to do around the house. I used to do more when my body was able but I still have some things that I’m responsible for. My least favorite? The dusting.
It’s not a difficult job, except at Christmas. My wife has over twenty Nativity scenes that she displays all around the house. I can’t tell you the number of times I tipped over the wise men while I was dusting this year. I think I even took out Joseph a time or two. For the most part it’s not difficult but I always seem to put it off. It’s not unusual for my wife to say, “You gonna dust this week or what?” Okaaay!
It’s human nature I’m sure. You put off the ironing or some other chore or assignment because YOU DON’T WANT TO DO IT! Why should you jump right in first thing in the morning with something you dread?
Well based on this “Eat the frog” principle you would get it done and out of your way. Now you can enjoy all the other things you have to do and not have that “frog” hanging over your head.
Whenever I put off something I don’t want to do it’s not like it’s out of mind. You probably think about it all day. When someone asks, “Are you almost done yet?” That’s when you realize that it’s still out there! Lurking. Haunting you!
Why not get it out of the way first thing in the morning?
Will I practice what I preach? I guess we’ll see. I will try.
Can I get the dusting done or those pesky phone calls made first thing tomorrow? Maybe after I have my coffee. Then pet the dog. Then think about all the things I’d rather be doing.
No! Stop it!
Let’s give it a shot! It makes sense.
Now where did I put that dust rag?
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