CHOOSING

So Much to Do, So Little Time

Like many of you, I start the year with some ambitious ideas and projects. There are some years when I start off strong, using much of what I have learned over the past 35 years studying Japanese Psychology. But there are also years when I get derailed. This year is one of those years. I’ve been derailed by several health issues – not life threatening, but painful and a bit disabling.

Fortunately, I teach a course every February on Taking Action in which everyone selects a single “project” which is truly important and is worthy of our life (our time) for progress or completion. So, I get a second chance this February.

The most important, and often trickiest moment, is choosing what to work on.

There are many possibilities, but I strongly encourage everyone in the course to select just one thing to work on. Even if you’re not in my course, I encourage you to use this opportunity to select something meaningful to work on this coming month. The year is already 13% over (Yikes!).

And, of course, that assumes we have the rest of the year. Even if we’re lucky enough to live the rest of the year, we may not stay healthy.

So if you have things that you’ve been putting off, but which are actually important to do, I encourage you to take this opportunity to move something to the front burner.

I’d like to share with you the guidelines I sent out this morning to people in my course, which may help you to reflect deeply on what you choose.

CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTING YOUR PROJECT

You might struggle with what project to focus on for this course because you have so many things you want to do.

That suggests you’re greedy. But in this case greediness is actually healthy. It means you want to squeeze as much life into your life as possible. I like that about you. :-)

But here’s the problem.

I want you to have the experience of seeing what you can accomplish when you channel your energy. Your energy can be like a laser beam. If you go out in the dark with a wide-beam floodlight and point it toward the sky, it won’t have much of an effect. The light diffuses widely. For a lot of us, our lives are like this. We have so many things we’re trying to do that nothing gets much energy. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had nothing to do each day but work on our novel? Or our website? Or make art? But mostly, our lives aren’t like that, are they?

Yet if we select one single thing for our main focus, over a month, we will realize what is possible when we consistently devote our energy to that one thing.

I’ve traveled quite a bit in my life and for years I did what a lot of people do: I would make a list in the morning of all the things I wanted to see and places to go that day. Then I would walk, run, take buses and taxis to all those places.

At the end of the day, I would be disappointed. And my family was often tired of rushing around.

First, I never got to all the places on my list. And second, I only gave myself time for a superficial visit. So now when I travel, I pick one thing to do or place to see each day. Sometimes I pick two, if I really want to stretch myself, but usually just one. If I finish my visit and there’s time , I go somewhere else. Often I can take my time getting there, walking, if possible.

This is a great month to channel your energy. Of course, you’ll do more than one thing during the month. But for your project, just select one thing. It keeps your focus clear, your intention sharp, and your energy channeled.

One more thing . . . in considering what you’re going to work on, there is no “right” answer. So if you can’t decide, just flip a coin. It’s more important what you do with the project you select, than whether you select writing a play or organizing the kitchen cabinets (however, if you are actually choosing between those two projects, I’d go with the play. Just my 2 cents).

So what should you work on this month?

What are you doing in your life that’s creative -- that expresses yourself in a creative way?

Writing? Art? Music? Woodworking? Poetry?

That kind of project almost always takes a back seat to reorganizing the kitchen cabinets. So consider creativity as an option.

On the other hand, you might consider something you know needs doing, but you’ve been putting it off and you really, really don’t like doing it. An example = TAXES. (that’s one of my examples). So you don’t have to select something you really feel like doing. You can also pick something you really have an aversion to, but it’s important to do it.

Consider this question:

If you do this project and complete it (this month or this year), will it stand out as a highlight of the year when you think about your life three years from now?

If possible, do something that will become a highlight.

Finally . . . pick something you can fail at . . .

If at all possible.

If there’s a chance of you failing, it will stimulate some ANXIETY.

Anxiety brings energy with it, and you can use that energy towards making your best effort. (Welcome to Japanese Psychology)

Please give careful consideration to what will rise to the top in the coming month.

For some people this part of the course is easy. For others, it’s terribly difficult. For all of us, it’s truly important.

We’re making a crucial investment decision. Listen to both your heart and your mind.

Choose wisely.

If you’d like to join my course and get support and guidance in the coming month, you can get more information and register here.

https://www.thirtythousanddays.org/taking-action-dlc/