The other day I was playing the number game Sudoku on my iPhone. It was a hard game to play, harder than usual. Then, as I was entering the last numbers to finish the game, I saw I had made a mistake. Instead of turning on my usual Hard mode, I had chosen the Expert mode -- the hardest level of the game. 

This game -- and "mistake" --- taught me something valuable. How often do we sell ourselves short, and think we can do less than we truly can? In my example it is just about a game, but it serves well as an example of how often we misjudge and underestimate our abilities.

This morning I sat thinking that I forgotten something. Then suddenly I paled and realized that I forgot to post one of my articles here for Owning Pink, still brooding on the other! I immediately got taken over by all sorts of fears with my inner critic running rampant -- telling me how worthless I was for forgetting, and how I should be ashamed, and how I'm not really a writer. I just sat there and listened to that voice, just listening, not feeling. Then I smiled.

Do you recognize this? You get up in the morning and you feel sluggish already. You hate the thought of the day ahead of you and at night you go to bed feeling dissatisfied.

You can change this, instantly, by creating a morning routine. Set your alarm a little earlier (I know, ugh, but trust me -- it's worth it!) so that you have some time just for you, and do something that energizes you and makes you happy. 

Every single person needs to have procrastinating time. Time where you just idle by and let life be life. To just not do anything and state that proudly when someone asks: "Whatcher doin?" Nothing is wrong with that. It's just the way for the body and mind to reset themselves, to get you back into a state of mind your work or your family requires.