Simple Is Best
May 25th, 2007 by Ken D
So I read Christine Kane’s blog yesterday and I got to an article called Begin Your Day where she referenced something called Morning Pages. I’m usually game for anything when it comes to my own improvement, especially when I’m feeling in a peculiar kind of mood - like my last post. So yesterday was my first experience doing Morning Pages and I have to say - I Loved It!
I wrote three pages and basically dumped everything that was sitting in the forefront of my mind. In the process, I got a nice glimpse of the streaming thoughts that were occurring behind the normal mind chatter. (People who have done it will understand what this means) I realized where all the mind pressure I have been experiencing for the past few weeks was coming from.
My recent focus has been on establishing a goal system where I write down my goals and work toward achieving them. I’m 42 years old and I’ve never written down a goal. I’ve had goals and I’ve achieved a great deal, but I’ve recently decided the goals I want to achieve now are the kind that I need to have a lot more structure in place to actually get them. I also believe that having this kind of structure will help me overcome something else I’m dealing with in my life. (A story for another post) The problem has been I’ve been thinking about goals that are really, really big from my perspective. The shear magnitude and size of the goals I’ve been looking at has basically done nothing but paralyze me in my current position.
When I went through the Morning Pages exercise I arrived at the answer to my problem when I hit the third page of writing.
Simple is better.
I realized my overall goal in my life right now is to develop a Goal System that I can put in place and use consistently. A system where I can write down my goals and look at them every day, and take action toward achieving them. My current goal isn’t to achieve my goals, but rather to implement a system that will help me achieve my goals and to make this system a part of my life. I guess you could say my goal is to setup a goal setting/achieving system.
With this in mind, I decided to set what I think are more realistic goals for a beginner goal setter. (And beginner is exactly where I’m at). So the three goals I set were these:
- Do the Morning Pages each day. I don’t even have to do them first thing in the morning. But I need to get them done each day; 3 pages of writing.
- One blog article by the end of the week (Sat. 5/27/07). It doesn’t matter what I blog about or whether I even think someone will find it interesting to read. (This article will be the fulfillment of that part of my goal)
- Read 1 chapter of the book I am currently reading. (I’ve already accomplished this and I am currently reading the next chapter)
By setting realistic, achievable goals I am allowing myself to have one complete repetition in my goal process. I wrote the three goals down on a piece of paper in a three ring binder. I’ve read the goals each day and have done them. At the end of the week I will be able to celebrate my first successful week of writing down my goals and getting them done.
I’ve already written out my goals for next week so my simple strategy is now working for me. To some people, what I just wrote may seem really basic. To me the difference is night and day. It’s the difference between wanting a goal system and actually having a goal system.
As I go along and continue to use my new system it will evolve and change and grow. The point for me has been to get moving and get something in place. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been paralyzed by my perfectionism where I had to see it all in place before I would even attempt a single step.
It’s 12:48am and I’m getting up at 5:30 in the morning to catch a flight to Virginia for my niece’s Bat Mitzvah. Tonight was the only time I could write an article to fulfill this part of my goals for this week. I know I’ll be tired in the morning, but the really, really cool thing is this - I did what it took to achieve my goal. That is worth more than any sleep I could possibly get. As I get ready to hit the publish button I am so filled with a sense of accomplishment I feel like I could stay up all night.
For me today, Simple Is Best.
