30 - How To
Life is a tricky thing. While navigating through the maze of work, friendships, family and the plethora of obligations foisted upon us by today's society, we often lose sight of our own personal goals.
This month, let's remind ourselves of the importance of the Fifth Keystone, wherein you, specifically, are instructed to Seek and follow your calling in life.
To an ordinary reader, this can seem a fairly simple edict. For the true devoted, they know the simple sentence belies the true difficulty of this Keystone. We are often too preoccupied with keeping the basics of our lives on track, taking care of others and our communities. Life has a way of interrupting the best plans.
But often, it is our own minds that are configured inefficiently - we get in the way of our own hopes and dreams. Excuses and reasons to say 'no' pile up, and it can be hard to break out of this natural pattern that keeps us in our comfort zone. Let's explore how our faith instructs us to do better, and use a common example that most people can identify with: getting enough exercise, and the seemingly elusive goal of "I want to get in shape".
First, recognize that your goal is not necessarily something that can be accomplished immediately - often with aspirational goals, these are long term outcomes that we are going to continue to strive for.
To help with this, it is beneficial to define the undesirable outcome - what does the failure state look like? If you fail to exercise, perhaps you will put on additional weight, become less agile, and wind up as helpless as a geriatric trapped in an retirement home.
This will help focus your goals, and understand what you are striving for (and what you are striving to avoid).
Second, elevate your expectations - of yourself! Paraclism asks us to be reasonable, and treat each other fairly. The same can be said about how we treat our own selves. However, when setting goals, it helps to kick this up a notch. When doing a check-in on progress, how have my weekly exercises gone? If the answer is "fine", this is a red flag. This is a bad word that tends to push even the sharpest among us into complacency. Our goal should be "Great" or "Fantastic" or "Really Good!". When looking back at our work and our effort, the word fine should be taken as a sign that we are not leaving it all on the table.
The Takeaway? Don't settle for fine, your faith calls for great!
Third, don't be angry at your obstacles - be curious. It's easy to say "oh you know, maybe i'll just skip the exercise today" or "just one more episode, i'll get to this later".
Rather than giving into these distractions, ask yourself why these are cropping up. Are you tired (of exercise)? Are you bored (of working out)? Are you afraid (you're not doing enough)? Are you frustrated?
Having this solemn dialogue with yourself can help you figure out how to right the ship. Maybe you need to change up the workout regiment. Get outside, do something new, invite a friend. Maybe you need to compare your progress more broadly? Perhaps stop envying others, and recognize all of the progress you've already made. These insights will help you get back on the right track.
Lastly, embrace the positives, no matter how small.
Behind every major success, be it a new strength milestone, or a weight loss target, is a number of near wins. These feel like they are getting very close to success, but don't quite get there.
Nevertheless, we should focus on the positive aspects. Even celebrating 10 days in a row of exercise is beneficial. These show that the effort is being put in, and that improvement is possible and has taken place!
We are working towards mastery, not just a static goal that we can tick off. Push yourself by celebrating the small wins.
Let these lessons guide you in your pursuits, and remember to Seek and follow your calling in life.
