Obsession

Aspiration

Many years ago, I was told by a person I trusted that the key to success was emulating people who had experienced the success you craved. She went on to say that successful people almost universally start each day by making their bed. While I found this bit dubious — people I wanted to emulate had people to make their beds for them — the principle seemed to make sense, and I have made my bed every morning since then. Seriously, even when I’m sick I make my bed. It has become an obsession.

As with most obsessions it has developed a structure of its own that must not be deviated from. There are eleven (maybe ten on a good day) steps that must follow on each other in a prescribed order. I have no idea of what would happen if the order were to not be followed, because I have never dared to try. So, for those who do not have enough of their own obsessive rituals, here is a quick primer on how to make the bed.

The first and perhaps most important action is also the most difficult — get out of bed. Some more talented people than I, can, I understand, make the bed from the inside without getting out of it, but I have not achieved, or even tried to achieve, this level of bedmaking skill.

Once out of bed, the first actual bed making activity can be the most dangerous. I need to remove the cat from the bed. I have tried all the alternatives — making the bad with the cat in it, making…