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Are You Compulsive Or Just Highly Motivated?
Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale and Michelangelo supposedly had obsessive compulsive disorder. David Beckham, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Martin Scorcesse supposedly have OCD. I know I'm compulsive; but because I don't think about it obsessively, I don't think I have OCD.
I prefer to think of myself as a doer - a person who likes to get things done that have to be done. Housework, meal preparations, errands - yes, I try to get all the have-to-do's done in the morning; but that's so I'll have the afternoon to enjoy having them done.
Maybe I'm just highly motivated. I've discovered that highly motivated people make great volunteers. Highly motivated people need to be more highly motivated to say no.
Then again, maybe I'm just extremely goal oriented - immediately followed by being touchdown oriented. When I say I'm going to do something, it's written in stone - or tacked to a bulletin board or scribbled on a post-it. Nevertheless, my glass is still half full. When I say I'm not going to do something - answer a phone, dust the living room, wash the car - I don't do it. Being compulsive doesn't mean I have to finish what's in my half full glass.
Of course, I could be just mildly driven. After all, I only go to the gym three times a week - not every day. I only go to the supermarket and the nail salon once a week. Come to think of it, I'm not driven. I drive myself to those places.
Okay, there are some things I do repeatedly - like polish chrome. I hate to see spots on faucets and handles - on anything shiny. This, however, isn't a problem. My grandmother taught me to clean up what I mess up and I taught my husband. I just have to teach him to wear his glasses so he sees the spots.
Yes, my husband cleans up what he messes up - except in his office. Bills, magazines, books - my husband suffers from what could become a terminal case of piles. Thank goodness for that incredible invention which has saved our marriage more than once. It's called a door.
There's a prayer called the Prosperity Prayer. It's meant to clear one's consciousness of all sorts of things - including compulsion. That sounded great until I read the small print. You have to say the prayer every day. Is it just me or does that sound compulsive?
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