Oh how I love to indulge! I'm a master of treating myself to rewards, layering myself with fuzzy socks, cozy blankets, luxurious pillows and purring kitties. I enjoy comfort, and I'm especially talented at doing it without breaking the bank. But, I have an epic fail. And it's one of those things that needles its way through my cozy layers just to remind me that there's unpleasantness in my world.

This is not a "get out of your comfort zone" article, so please wipe all of that out of your head right now. I'm simply acknowledging that I'd rather sit on the couch and binge almost anything than clean a litter box. Can you blame me?

For some strange reason, household chores need to be done to take care of myself and those living in the house with me. Call it "responsibility" or "adulting" or whatever, but there are a ton of things we have to do and don't want to do no matter how simple or easy they might be. Others include exercise, making an effort to eat well, and flossing teeth. Why are these are the things I struggle with the most? I actually do enjoy doing many of them and I really don't mind cleaning the house! If I can get up on a Saturday morning, put on some oldies and bounce from room to room while dancing in my pajamas, it's actually rather fun. So go ahead and call me crazy; you wouldn't be the first!

The problem is, that outside of what I would call a "perfect context", it can feel impossible to get anything done. If a pile of laundry is particularly high, or the adjustment to my diet is a particularly difficult one, I will procrastinate, and wait for the pain of not doing it to become greater than the pain of taking on the task. That, my friends, can be a very, very long wait.

Left to my own devices, I will allow my environment will degrade. If I do nothing but the bare minimum, the current of comfortability will carry me downstream into disrepair. I need to fight that current. I need to push upstream with intention. I have to face the temptation to rely on comfort for happiness and choose to push against it.

Engage, and integrate into your whole environment, not just part of it. Influence it. Change something for the better - anything. Take one thing out of your junk drawer that belongs somewhere else. Put all of your batteries in one place. Clean the toilet. You'll not only have a clean toilet, but you'll remind yourself that you are worth taking care of. You are worth the effort of facing the unpleasant to make things better. Swim against your current.