How often do we waste time? How often do we want? Unfortunately, the answers to those two questions tend to dominate over the over the answer to: How often do we do?
The Garden & The Farm
You find yourself in your backyard. The snow has melted, the birds are starting to chirp and the sun is warming your skin. You stretch to the sky on this beautiful Saturday morning and realize an opportunity is right in front of you. You have a section of your backyard that has never been touched. It sits perfectly aligned with the sun to get a daily dose of warmth and is roughly 10 feet by 5 feet. You decide that a garden was meant to prosper in this location & head out to the local nursery to start growing your salad producing garden.
Now, let’s say I picked you up and planted (pun intended) you on a farm 10 miles outside of town. You have 50 acres to work with all to yourself. You could grow an entire crop and have wildlife grazing about. You don’t have the hustle and bustle of the city to keep you from tending to this plot of land. You have 1,00 times the opportunity in front of you at this farm in comparison to your backyard garden.
So, which do you think yields the first produce?
The garden.
Big-Dream Dilemma
As with the example above, when our options and/or opportunities are too big for the mind to properly calculate, we tend to give up altogether. Is managing a farm do-able. Of course it is, but how many people want to take on that whole challenge. The garden developer accomplishes the goal because it is mindfully manageable.
The same applies to our lives. We dream of owning an island with multiple dwellings and adventure to be had (That IS My Dream), but we can’t even properly manage our own household. Why? Because we focus on the impossible and rarely approach that which is manageable. This does not mean dreams and goals are not established. Quite the contrary. How we accomplish the dreams and goals is by establishing them, putting them to the side, and manage what is manageable.
Small > All
We could sit here and think about ALL the time we waste. However, I have found such broad thinking rarely produces change. We want change. Lots of it. So, stop thinking about ALL and start thinking about SMALL.
Let’s take the last 60 minutes. What have you done in the last 60 minutes? Seriously, ask yourself this question. In the last 60 minutes what have you done to accomplish something? It doesn’t have to be an all high-and-mighty accomplishment. The reality and conclusion that we face is that the big picture rarely generates change while the focus on a brief period of inaction makes us feel like it is possible to change.
That is okay. We just have to change that.
What Do I Do Now
We have come to the conclusion that dreaming is all fine and dandy, as long as we are taking steps to achieve those goals. What we do then is focus on the next 10 minutes. Maybe start generating a to-do list over the next 10 minutes that will help you in the following 60 minutes. Once you have finished all the items on your to-do list, start planning out what you are going to be doing the rest of the day in 60 minute intervals. This doesn’t mean everything on the to-do list is something productive or dream-oriented. My to-do lists often have things like ‘Go to Whole Foods’ & ‘Do Dishes’. The reason I write even these tasks is because it helps me use the next 5-10-60 minutes wisely. It keeps me on point. Now, you don’t have to physically write a to-do list. You have to do whatever it is that helps you accomplish what you need/want to accomplish.
I can’t say it enough. Forget about the big goal or dream for a minute and let’s just focus on what we can accomplish in the 60 minutes. The further we break down the larger picture, the more manageable life is and the more successful we will be.
1 Piece > 999 Pieces
Life is a puzzle. If you look at the 1,000 scrambled pieces in the box, the goal will seem unattainable. Instead, we focus on the first few pieces of the corner. Then we move on to the focused image on the box. Then the border becomes thicker. Soon enough, you are flying through the puzzle, not even realizing all you are focusing on is the 1 piece you have in your hand and not the 999 other pieces provided. The fewer the pieces we focus on, the sooner we finish the puzzle.
Focusing on the things we can accomplish in the next few minutes may not sound like big-dream paradise, but by accomplishing the small acts in life, our dreams slowly become a reality.
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Just one question – when we put the last piece into the puzzle does that mean we’re dead?
I like the idea of thinking about the small pieces and baby steps rather than becoming overwhelmed with the whole picture.
I feel like you need to start with a very clear vision of where you are going.. so the puzzle box picture.
Once you have that, definitely one SIMPLE step at a time. one minute, one inch, one pound, one thought
I am excited to learn more about Destination X!