I have just started reading a book about getting your house under control. I know for myself, the state of my home tends to match the state of my mind and really the state of my life. A little inside peek... Chaos is reigning supreme. Sometimes it can be hidden. Sometimes it is right there screaming loudly.
The chapter I just read was about perspective. People have a tendency to like projects. There is the thrill of starting. You make your plan (read as a really big list that you will truly conquer). You check things off this list. Then it's finished. WooHoo! Then it's on to the next super exciting thing. Or if you are not successful, the list gets lost or you rip it to tiny pieces and it's off to the next project.
As I was reading, it really struck me that most of my life is not really a project. There is no glorious start, a mountain to climb with a spectacular finish line. Life is about the little, every day, often tedious and not very exciting things. It is in the actual doing of these things that a life well lived will develop. Mediocrity likes to hide in these little things and that is why they can be so hard to continue doing day after day. The example she used was doing the dishes. You can wish, plan, dream about them but the only way that your kitchen will look clean is - To wash the dishes!!!! You have to do the work and then in some cases immediately do the work again.
I have mentally treated some of my goals this year as projects that really are not. This has not served me well. I have had little to no success on these particular goals. As a result, they are back on the requirement list again for next year. This year's approach did not work so I'm seeking a different approach. That is where this book came in. The things that are truly important to me at this time in my life are not projects. Areas like my relationships, my health, my home are not one and done. They require constant steps in the right direction. I would love to wave a wand and reach my destination but I know that by not walking the daily steps, I can't even hope to maintain what I was given.
With that I am off to make some little steps and in case you are wondering... Yes, my dishes are all done!
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