I now acknowledge that, for me, working hard is a never-ending and frustrating story. It’s like rowing like a maniac only to realize your boat is still tied to the dock. (True story - happened to my Uncle Don). Yet, doing less to accomplish more? Hmmmm…..
I’d come to a dead end with this painting and decided to use it in my collage explorations. From top to bottom, you’ll see how I tore the pagoda and its bamboo friend free from the background.
The best way I know to really understand something is to explain it to others. So, tag, you’re “it”. Let’s start here:
Wise friends have advised me: “For best results, act on inspired action, not required action.” Get it? Normally, I feel uncomfortable without a specific plan, when addressing a new decision or goal. Any action felt better than no action. I learned that busy-ness was regarded by watchful and critical eyes as the righteous path.
I recently followed a transformational program created by Dr. Benjamin Hardy. He explains that our brains process the last three things we do (or think about having done) at the end of our working day. Our brains then continue thinking about those last three actions with respect to what else we did that day.
If we constantly face a lot of daily tasks, our brains correlate our feelings of accomplishment with respect to what remains on the list. Simply put, the more we do in a day, the less our brains believe in happy endings.
Dr. Hardy goes on to explain that by following through on a single aspect of a desired goal - the one to three most important tasks for that day that truly matter - our brains will begin associating our accomplishments with real progress.
In other words, focusing on one to three specific sub-goals allows us to fully commit to the task at hand as well as to our ultimate goal. In addition, we experience a clear start and a successful finish. Our brains begin to reinterpret who we are as high-performers who live in a state of flow which then translates to less effort provides greater gain. So, yay.
I wasn’t taught to believe this, and I still don’t trust it completely; however, I am trying it. I’m reminded of Albert Einstein’s wonderful definition of insanity as “doing something over and over again and expecting different results.”
I’ve tried my old way for too long and I know what it brings. My life is better, yes, but I dream of more. Look how well this worked for Mr. Einstein. So, why not? Why not me and why not you?
If you try it, let me know how it works. I’d really like to know.
Here’s a partial photo of where I am now. How do I marry the pagoda to its lavender rice paper background and make this creative idea stand out?
All the best!