My Morning Moxie On The Ball

MORNING:

I'm about drifting off. Thinking how tired, how tired... Then I remember, I'm up, I need to be at 'em. There'll be time for sleeping later.

Being "up and at 'em" means having a certain level of attitude -- confidence, pride, self-esteem, and trust.

But such qualities are sometimes nebulous, tough to understand fully and conceptualize.

I try to think of it in terms of themes, phrases that I can think of through the course of a day, to remind myself of my aims and abilities.

Today -- Moxie on the Ball. The terms "moxie" and "ball," I don't know what they mean in the dictionary sense. But I know them psychically.

You have "moxie" and it means something like creative potential, inner strength and purpose pumped out of some innerterranean well.

And "on the ball" means being alert to it, aware of what your potential is in relation to the moxie. My mom used to say "Get on the ball!"

Get with it. Get with the plan. Get with the program. Put your creativity to the test, go through life with the confidence you need.

So today I'll be off doing many things -- some things I can predict, some I can't. For all things, I will depend on my Moxie on the Ball.

So can you!

Moxie On The Ball

Now that's what I call Moxie on the Ball!

Which, incidentally, I have in profound abundance.

Sixty seconds ago I didn't have it, or didn't think I did. There's so many other activities a guy can go do. Why sit here and tire out my tired little mind trying to develop the concept of Moxie on the Ball? After all, I know it ... and isn't that what's important? It's the selfish approach.

But then, you know -- altruism, one's own sense of security in his moxieness -- it's not going to kill me to sketch out a little something. And it might even do me some good; even though I basically have everything I need, a supplemental wouldn't hurt, like one for the road, so my day will go as well as it can. One more, one more, one more.

The only thing that would give me more Moxie on the Ball would be to have another hour of sleep every night. Because moxie for me partially has to do with being well rested. I had a busy day yesterday -- was up early, then to bed a little later than I should've been, and, worst of all, there was no nap. A nap is great for moxie. So put it together: up early, bed late, no nap ... of course I would be better off this morning if it'd had one.

But, even with with this disadvantage, and even though I'm feeling lethargic -- I got up and had a hard time focusing on my reading -- there's still enough (I believe) Moxie on the Ball to put in a decent effort toward life today and see success.

One thing that would take away my possibilities would be to dwell too long on the lack of sleep. Because dwelling on it chips away at the confidence I already have. Meaning, if I mourn what I don't have I'll lose what I do have, meaning I'll have more to mourn about as that goes, then what remains after that will be chipped away, and so on and so on until I'm dried up in a corner.

Instead, what level of confidence I have, I need to keep that and add to it. And I do have confidence. Especially as time ticks on and I'm in various social settings. It's there that I have to have it, so I do. The confidence, the creativity, the ability to roll with the punches, to go with the flow, to get done what needs to get done, to surprise myself occasionally -- it's all Moxie on the Ball that wins the day.

How do you get Moxie on the Ball if you haven't got it? You probably already do have it. I haven't met anyone who wanted Moxie on the Ball who didn't already have it, perhaps in a hidden form. If you don't want it, you haven't got it. If you want it -- you're your own genie in the bottle to grant your wish. You have the wish within you.

So you grant your own wish, for Moxie on the Ball. Then you step forward with a consciousness that says you will succeed, you will have confidence, you will have creativity, you do know how to put the pieces together -- socially, artistically, spiritually, any old way -- and to do so in a way that gets it accomplished and is a blessing to your life and others.

Use your Moxie on the Ball today and have the best life. And use your powers for good.

Down For The Count

Somehow in the last few days I lost most of my psychological moxie.

I had moxie on the ball there for a quite a while. I was on a sweet roll. From one peak to another, then a plateau here and there, then I was wishing I had a plateau, being on a slope, a slope inexorably leading me toward a valley.

I'm going to try getting back my moxie ... tomorrow. I'm going to dream about it, at least think about it before going to bed, and I hope by tomorrow I'll be able to have that as a theme for continuing personal victory. Funny how these things work. By cracky, I believe it can be done! In fact I'm already feeling more optimistic! Funny!

But let me stew in my dismal juices -- or at least pretend to -- for the remainder of this post. That's the way I started it and it seems like it's too soon to shift gears and experience myself back on the upward march. I really believe I could do it. But I'm down, down, down, you see, and not likely to get back up (I wasn't at the beginning). I am, as they say in the sport of boxing, Down For The Count.

What got me down? I really believe there's a kind of cycle that happens with us. That we do go from those top of the world peak experiences in this cycle toward a downward trough. Like a wave, something like a wave. I'm definitely one for being hot toward a certain pursuit, then a couple weeks later cold, colder.

But I still have aims, goals, and desires in mind. I'm just waiting for that creative spark. I only need one little glimpse of it to grab the whole thing. So that's nice. But sometimes those glimpses are hard to get. You just have to think, When I need it -- really need it -- it will be there!

I like the thought today of Moxie On The Ball -- a lot more than being Down For The Count. I'll have to stew on that overnight and maybe that will be my next victorious theme. It's something to hope for. Think about me overnight, if you haven't got anything else to worry about. If you just think good thoughts in my general direction, toward your computer, I will feel that and it will add strength to me and my resolve. Let me thank you in advance.

Am I really, then, down for the count. Well, I was. But it seems like I've gotten up. I think I'm up now. So they can stop the count.