I Dare to __________!
It is ANOTHER glooming Monday morning (May 2) – I got up to my alarm with the intent of WRITING – making progress on a personal goal, but instead, I zoned out to mindless crap on TV until it was time for SHOWER, SHAVE, SHIRT, SHOVE Off…the start of another week. Uggg! My down-n-out feelings were met with a text from a fellow ID2A-er, “Currently I’m trapped in the whirlwind of life again…the everyday normal routine consumes my life. Breaking out of the norm…is scary, more opportunities to fail.” I responded with, “I am there too. New month – new recommit.” But how?
If you know from The Whirlwind According to Covey, the business book The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) helped me understand and address the whirlwind of life. Per Covey,
Most of our workdays are filled with unexpected, urgent, and routine tasks that will keep us from doing anything new. These tasks are called the WHIRLWIND.
Quick question – does that describe your life?
4DX offers the 4 steps to break through WHILE living in the whirlwind.
1. Set 2-3 big goals – achievable, meaningful (for YOU!) out there in time. 3 months, 6 months???
2. What are you going to do this week to achieve the longer-term meaningful goal?
3. Record progress daily.
4. Be accountable to someone – like-minded, with YOUR best life in mind.
I will share with you my current 2 long-ish range goals:
1. Have a rough draft of The One Day Tour novel done by June 30, 2022
2. Participate in the Baxter triathlon Sunday August 28, 2022
Obviously, a novel of ~50,000 words will take time AND commitment, especially since it is an action not governed by The Panic Monkey. I’ve set an incremental goal of 5,000 words a week. Challenging but do-able and I’m accountable to a slave driver…daily! The triathlon is REALLY scary to me since I’m about 60 pounds heavy AND physically inactive, and I am finding it REALLY hard to break through the inertia.
Per Oxford, Inertia:
1. a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged.
2. A property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line UNLESS that state is changed by an external force. (bold is mine)
To stay on track, this week I WILL keep track of my writing and my physical activity and I will be accountable. Thankfully, I am part of an accountability group that meets every Thursday (well, as close to “every” as schedules permit). We have “religiously” been meeting weekly for a year and half, and the cadence, trust, and encouragement I derive from the “process” is unmeasurable.
Will I achieve the big goals – I hope so, but if I don’t, I’m ok knowing that I’m acknowledging and acting against the whirlwind. Regarding the triathlon – I am not really concern about the event or the outcome, it is a milestone out in time that will help me reclaim by identity… I AM an athlete!
Will my novel be a best-seller? I am trying to overcome these thoughts and the tendency to overwhelm and scare me and give me an excuse to NOT try. My writing coach calls it “Masterpiece Syndrome.” I am grabbing hold of something Pete Seeger says in No Direction Home, “your song may only be heard by a couple dozen people…but perhaps…” No matter what, writing gives me a chance to “re-awaken my inner child” and get my thoughts on paper and out of my mind.
Your action, if you are ready – fill in the blank: I dare to ___________________________!