A Controller, a Golf Club, and a Laundry Basket Lid
It’s often, we as humans, achieve tasks in mysterious ways.
We sometimes make the most basic of tasks, the most complex tasks. This may be because we find ourselves in a moment of laziness, or possibly we don’t understand the true nature of the task at hand. Yet, we push on into the unknown of uncertain task action.
In this case, a simple task in which getting up to get a remote, or in this case an Xbox gaming controller, I found myself reaching into that uncertainty.
I was sitting in a beaten down office chair; the black plastic cushion material was ripping, and a few strips of the material was scattered on the floor next to it; it was falling apart. In front of me was a white circular weaved laundry basket. It was within reach, and I could easily reach my hand and grab the white lid, which was holding back the horde of stinky residue from filthy used clothes. (Oh, don’t we all love a full laundry basket?)
Very slantedly, a 56-degree angled wedge golf club sat up against the end of the bed, right next to the laundry basket. The comforter, which was a lovely light blue color with elegant stripes (how on earth do you make a bed comforter sound cool?), supported the now needed Xbox controller. Of course, it was just out of reach.
Now, some might say this comes down to being lazy, and with all due respect I agree, but hear me out for just a moment. The idea emerged, as a challenge, you see! My conscience said I should challenge myself to do something so unexpected, so daring, so bizarre!
The task was simple: using the wedge I would gently lift the club behind the controller and push it off to the edge of the bed. With my other hand I would use the round basket lid to catch the controller and then bring it towards me. The whole purpose of this act was because I didn’t want to get up, but my brain just couldn’t help but do this challenge. By simply not getting up, I constructed this bizarre, unnecessarily complicated plan to get my controller. In that moment, that is how my brain reacted.
Most people would most likely just get up. But why get up when I could do something more challenging and honestly more fun? The thing is we do this all the time, and you see in on the internet all the time. People throwing basketballs from miles away and making it in hoops, or even the people trying to throw a playing card into a potato chip clip. The bizarre acts that accomplish nothing and add nothing provide a unique challenge that presents itself in all of us.
What is the purpose of any of that? What did it achieve? Why do we feel it was necessary? The willingness to challenge ourselves as individuals is what drive us. In a lot of cases, most of us will get up to complete a simple task, but sometimes we just need to go the extra mile to fulfill something deeper inside of us. By challenging ourselves we are building a different mindset to go an extra mile even if it is unnecessary, and sometimes we build that mindset in the strangest of ways.
Lazy? Maybe. Fun? Yes. Challenging? You bet! Challenge yourself often and reap the rewards even if it might seem lazy… it might turn out to be more complicated and challenging than ever!