Peace of Mind Organizing

My role model in persistence

18 August 2009

I adore my orange tabby cat, Joe, of course. But he does a great job of annoying me on a regular basis. But when I pause to reflect on it, he’s also teaching me stuff.

As I posted about over a year ago, Joe regularly hampers my productivity by loving on me while I’m trying to work. He plants his furry self between me and my monitor, sometimes rubbing his face against mine, even getting a little drool on me. And sometimes he just lies on the keyboard, like he did the other day:

It's hard to type when Joe does this.

So as I’m getting annoyed (and sneezy because of the fur in my face) sometimes I can’t help but admire him. Why? Because in doing this, Joe is gratifying himself. And he’s figured out how to turn the situation around to work in his favor.

Scenario A: He gets to keep loving on me and I give in and pet him. Or invite him on my lap. He gets what he wants: my attention and love.

Scenario B: I push his butt out of the way and he lies down on my desk and stares at me. He’s comfy and in my presence. He leaves when he’s ready and not a moment before.

Scenario C: I pick him up and place him on the comfy upholstered chair behind me. He immediately jumps back up and starts rubbing my face again. I relocate him again. He does it again. I throw my hands in the air and leave the room. He runs out of the room ahead of me and jumps on the guest bed where he’s often given treats. And because I admire his cunning, I usually give it to him.

See? Joe always wins. And so what is Joe teaching me?

• Know what you want
• Keep trying to get it
• Shift the goal line so you still win if things don’t work out exactly as planned
• When efforts seem to fail, figure out a great consolation prize

Now I just need to figure out how to apply that lesson to my business!

Tagged with: cats, joe, persistence, productivity

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