31 - Be Better
We are continuing to hammer home the importance of the Fifth Keystone, and helping YOU to Seek and follow your calling in life. Striving for meaning that speaks to our hears and our minds is the best way to exercise our faith and improve our well being.
We all have dreams, callings and different goals that we've set for ourselves. But we pursue these passions with widely varying intensity. Sometimes, that which should be a raging inferno of determination is reduced to a quiet ember, slowely eroded by the passage of time and life itself.
Often, there is a fear of refocusing on these passions. People often think, well, these passions are important to me, and i want to do them right; as we all know, whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.
Therein lies the deception! This is a line we've all heard before, but it is actually somewhat misleading, and can turn into a reason (and a fear) for us to not do the very thing that we ought.
In truth, Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly.
Now, don't think this means you should be content with doing some paltry bit of what you ought. Rather, if something is close to your heart, you should DO IT, however imperfectly, rather than put it off or find an excuse to not do it. Things are hard in the beginning, and we are often not good at them. Both of these work against us. How can we find things that work FOR us?
First, look at where you want to go. Is this a new job, a new skill or a significant change in your life? Whatever it is, break it into bite sized pieces. By breaking something down into its components, each of them becomes more manageable. Identify the pieces, figure out their order, and start tackling them one by one, bit by bit. This will also allow you to learn and refine your goals and your approach - and help you actually start following your calling.
As a part of this approach, you should diversify your sources - do you need some books, maybe some videos, or classes? Limit the amount of theory, and do not rely on any one method too much - mix and match, and jump into actually doing.
Next, the tricky part is consistency. You have to remove all of the impediments or barriers to your participation. Put away the distractions and carve out a time (and a space) to follow-through. An easy way to do this is just set an alarm on your phone - at 6pm every day you put in 45 minutes. This is an easy way to do it, and to help use technology to keep you efficient and on task.
For those of us who might need a bit more of a nudge, consider combining the practice with something that you love. Watch a show during, or reward yourself with your favorite treat. Something that encourages you and pushes you in the right direction - even if you've got to trick the motivation into gear, the outcome is worth it.
Last, at the start, set a minimum amount of time - keep at it for at least one month. If you're tied to weekly scheduling, 4 weeks at a minimum! This helps you get past any frustrations, work out the beginner stumbling stones and get a bit of competence (and confidence) built up. Commit this amount, your dreams and your calling are worth at least that much. Once that time is up, look back at the progress you've made, and after celebrating that, take an introspective moment and search your soul on whether you can take things to the next level, or consider whether your calling is now taking you in another direction. There is no shame in course correction, so long as your are seeking your calling.
