Thursday, February 3, 2011

A "make it work" manifesto.

I had a “make it work” moment earlier this week. I went to the gym after class on Tuesday and even though it’s already February, I still spent 15 minutes walking around the changeroom looking for a free locker. When I finally found one (i.e. stalked a girl who looked like she was about to leave and followed her back to her locker and waited for her to change), I realized that I had left my lock at home. I was tempted to just call it quits and assume that “the universe just doesn’t want me to go to the gym today.” Fortunately, my friend ended up convincing me to bring my wallet with me and leave the rest of my stuff. Of course, given how hard it was to find a locker, it was no surprise that none of the treadmills were free either. But instead of giving in to my grumpiness and moping in the corner, I decided to make it work and ended up getting in a good strength training workout instead.

This got me thinking about what it means to “make it work” and why this phrase appeals to me so much. Making it work is not about waiting for the perfect set of circumstances; it’s about doing your best with what you have right now. Making it work is not about perfect gourmet lunches served on Martha Stewart dishes; it’s about throwing together a delicious and healthy salad using whatever you have in your fridge. Making it work is not about waiting until you earn enough money to buy designer clothes or lose those last five pounds to feel good about yourself; it’s about taking pride in your appearance right now. Making it work is not about waiting to find that moment of pure concentration before you start studying; it’s about reading your notes on the train and absorbing as much as you can. Making it work is not about waiting until you have an entire hour free to chat before calling your best friend to catch up; it’ about calling her to say “Hi” while you walk home, or sending a quick email when you get the chance. Making it work is not about wishing for some ideal universe where you have all the resources you need to do everything you desire and you never need to make any difficult decisions; it’s about doing the best you can with what you have at this moment, at every moment.