The Effortless Angle
Making the conscious flip on the switchboard
What is the easiest path to the goal?
Or put another way, how do we remove the struggle around getting the most important things done?
That’s the question of the week here 😄
If we take writing this newsletter for example, I usually can’t write much about until I get my morning breathing and stretches done.
Then I usually need some sort of coffee, tea or both.
I will probably decide that reading a book will be a good way to stimulate the mind with ideas, so there will be some time spent flipping pages.
Next I might do my free writing on pen and paper, flipping more pages.
Ah, now it’s time to send the newsletter!
Yet this isn’t about me. It’s about all of us.
We tend to suffer from the mental workup that goes down when it’s time to do something that we decide is important.
The fact that this stress starts to show up is a signal that the work is important, and that’s not such a bad thing.
This is the camera angle that we can call the overactive mind. It’s an angle that we experience life in from time to time.
A better camera angle to flip over to is the one that is care-free and sees our world without so much resistance.
Often what it comes down to is the ability to not care so much about the outcome.
Whatever you are working on, when you care too much about what will happen at the end of putting the work in, you might stop yourself dead in your tracks.
Goals are helpful as a rough marker of where we are headed and the direction we are going in. But they become unhelpful when we become fixated on them.
To connect all these dots:
I can set a goal of sending a newsletter, which helps me stay on track.
When it’s time to write, I must be careful to not push myself into sending something profound or meaningful.
Therefore I must surrender and know that by simply showing up, I will improve in some way and the goal of keeping this newsletter going will be achieved.
Look at how this can help someone who wants to stay fit during the winter: Set the goal to get 20-30 minutes of cardio or weight-based training a few times a week. That is the rough marker.
When it’s time to do the exercise, don’t start comparing yourself to other people who do cross-fit an hour a day every day. Whatever you can get done is better than nothing at all.
The last stretch of the year can be stressful as everyone wants to tie up a bow on their work and life goals for the year.
Whatever you got done is perfectly good.
If you’re able to wrap up some loose ends in the next few weeks, that’s even better, but there’s no need to beat yourself up about it.
Always ask yourself: What is the easiest path to the goal?
How can I do the things that are most important to me with the minimal amount of stress and weight on my mind?
~ To the joy of Sunday 🥯 ~
p.s. If you haven’t listened yet my latest track was shared in last week’s edition.