I recently started a new job, with a new company. For some this is not a big deal. For me it was leaving a home of 18+ years. It was time. I was ready. It’s still change. I love my new job, the people and the company. It’s still change. Knowing and living your vision is easy when things are routine, normal and comfortable. But when they aren’t, it can be hard.
For the last 100 days I’ve felt like I have been on a fast moving merry-go-round. And only catching a glimpse of my vision at certain points of the spin. As a result I find myself tired and energized at the same time. Tired of the spin but motivated by the new adventure. And I have wanted the merry-go-round to slow down, or even stop. Then it occurred to me, I control the spin. It’s my merry-go-round. All I need to do is focus on one thing at a time. None of my competing priorities win when I don’t focus on any of them. All of them win when I focus on them one at a time.
So I have been focusing for the last two weeks differently. Creating time and space for new and exciting work. When I need to move to the next important thing, like my kids, I focus there. I am more present with my SO and focusing on our activities. I have allowed myself to say ‘no’ to things that I want to do, but doing them takes too much out of me right now. Intentionally, I have created space in my day to do all the things I want to do, which gets me aligned to my vision.
porch sitting and wine drinking
One of my favorite activities is sitting on my front porch with my dogs and SO, enjoying the birds chirping and music playing while enjoying a great bottle of wine. This week, with the merry-go-round slowed and focusing on what is important, I enjoyed a beautiful early evening porch sitting and wine drinking. It was perfect.
Personal mastery is the practice of living your vision. To find focus where we don’t have it. To focus on the things that are most important to us. To focus on vision.
I end today asking you for what strategies you use to slow your merry-go-round down and focus? What do you say, BLV community?
Chris – I’ve never tried meditation but your are inspiring me to give it a try. Thank you!
From my cousin Pete – thank you Pete:
nless you are a monk, it is pretty hard not to have to step onto that merry-go-round when you go out and deal with the world. I was lucky enough to find and marry my soul mate 31 years ago, and I will share with you one of the things that has helped us over the years. Rather than slow down the merry-go-round, we choose to step off of it when we walk through the door to our home. Our philosophy is that we have the whole rest of the world to fight with, but when we get home to the safe confines of our home, we need to be safe. It is our sanctuary. Curl up with a cat or two and a book, get some cat reiki, and have some wine. We picked up the “sanctuary” handle from a trip to Hawaii decades ago. The islanders were pretty tough customers back in the day, and quite a few heads were cleaved with those massive war axes with stones strapped to them wielded by massive Polynesians. But they were sporting. They had the concept of sanctuary, where if you could make it to the area demarcated as the sanctuary, then they would let you go. Well that is our deal. Drag your tired butt home and make it through the door, and we will nurse each other’s wounds and do our best not to administer any new ones. Don’t get me wrong, there is the occasional sniping that goes on occasionally, but by in large we honor the concept. About six months ago I thought it would be a good daily reminder of the rule if I actually painted “sanctuary” over the door leading from our garage into the house. So, we choose to just jump off the merry-go-round every day for awhile. Create your own sanctuary and honor it.
(click here to see the photo – compliments of Pete)
Hi KC!
Thanks for the much needed reminder & inspiration. I have been incorporating mindful meditation into my mornings and am adding a session to my afternoons starting today. It’s almost magical what a mere 5 minutes of mindful focus on my breath can do to reduce stress and reset my intention to focus on what’s important right here, right now, not next week, not next month. Cheers to porches, music, dogs, birds and wine everywhere!