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| Photo by Alan Gillespie |
- First quarter (half moon) - Full effort, obstacles, flexibility
Agenda today:
1. Journal queries
2. Make a full effort plan
3. "Leaning in" practice
4. Find balance
5. People's Inauguration ribbon
1. Journal queries:
Today, at the first quarter moon, I prepare to give full effort to my priorities. I will certainly face obstacles but I will remain flexible and use my obstacles as fuel for growth:
- The challenge to awareness is ignorance; practice seeing clearly.
- The challenge to freedom is limitation; practice opening doors and stepping through.
- The challenge to focus is confusion; practice centering.
- The challenge to persistence is lethargy and procrastination; practice taking one step at a time.
- The challenge to love is anger; practice forgiveness and joy.
- The challenge to confidence is fear. Practice equanimity.
- The challenge to flexibility is rigidity; practice giving in, and being willing to help others.
Which of my priorities am I having the most trouble acting on this month?
What potential challenges and obstacles do I face this week and month (things I don’t enjoy, don’t know how to do, or feel blocked on)? How can I best meet these challenges?
How will I find the inspiration that will spark full effort for my priorities, every day, over and over?
2. Make a full effort plan:
Full effort (sometimes called exertion) is one of the steps of mental discipline on Buddha’s eightfold path. Buddha was urging full effort for awakening the mind; a first step is to practice full effort for whatever is most important in your life right now - for your priorities.
Today I'm going to work at that second step: a spark of energy, personal motivation, and determination. How do I connect to my excitement for life each day and each moment, and sustain it long enough to accomplish my priorities?
The trick is to lean in: When the time comes to act on one of my priorities - to write my book, or paint, or exercise - I block out distractions, focus my full attention on this one undertaking, and lean in to it with excitement, and curiosity, and love.
If I feel resistance ("I'm just not in the mood") or hit a snag ("I can't find the exercise mat"), I breathe through it, stay with it, remind myself of my deepest reasons, and build energy. I lean in to the discomfort or complexity of the moment - put my shoulder to it with gentle persistence and tenacity.
Personal motivation is complex; it's shaped by our internal will but also influenced by our history, and the expectations and prejudices of those around us. Here is a list of the things that have worked to motivate me in the past - I'm going to use this list to make a plan for full effort for each of my priorities this week:
- Routine and ritual
- Self-discipline, one-task-at-a-time
- Checking off lists and charts
- Getting a leading, yearning, or concern
- Introspection and journal-writing
- Ask: "If not now, then when?"
- Encouragement and praise from others
- Money and other tangible rewards
- Taking a class or reading a book
- Positive thinking
- Having company
3. "Leaning in" practice:
In order to successfully break free of a pattern of weak or incomplete effort, you can use the notion of "leaning in" as a body-mind-heart training:
-Feel the leaning in kinesthetically as an impulse toward forward movement in your body;-Feel it mentally as an accelerating and focusing of your mind;-Feel it emotionally as an expansion of your heart, so that you are acting whole-heartedly and with love.
4. Find Balance:
The third step towards giving full effort for your priorities is balance, meaning that you want to hold your intentions lightly in the complexity of life. If you are driven to complete everything on your list at all costs, you may miss an opportunity to open your heart, or to grow, or find peace within (or you might feel frustration when you miss the mark).So, even though I'm leaning in and using full effort, I need to remember that this is not a race; I want to savor each part of the process! I don’t need to feel guilty for how slowly things are progressing, or for the roadblocks I'm encountering - I just need to love myself, and my life, and do the work with energy and honor.
My favorite tool for finding balance is my Priorities Grid: It's a Google spread sheet that charts out my week for me. It includes the basic top priority areas I want to touch on, and spaces for the actions I want to take each day.
I look at it every morning and create balance by being flexible as I review my day. On the days when my work responsibilities are high, I adjust my other priorities to be shorter tasks. When my Family and Service commitment includes more than 3 items, I shift things around until my day looks manageable.
And you can also create balance in the moment by being flexible when life offers you choices. For example, even though I started the day with reasonable expectations, when my daughter calls to ask if she can drop the baby off for a couple of hours I (of course) say "YES!" My family is a priority.
Or perhaps I just don't have any energy. I decide to take a bath and a nap, and don't wake up until 4 p.m.! I obviously needed to take care of myself - my health is a priority. Such is life. I'm not going to waste energy feeling self-loathing.
When life offers you choices, pause a moment and touch in with your Inner Guide. Ask: "Am I being true to my priorities?"
5. People's Inauguration ribbon:
Joe Biden's inauguration is today, and tomorrow is the People's Inauguration! This event is part of a nationwide People’s Inauguration, convened by Sikh activist Valerie Kaur and the Revolutionary Love Project. It also aligns with the Climate Ribbon Project! The event symbolizes the belief that each of us has a critical role to play in imagining and building a more just and compassionate country.
350Eugene is co-hosting, and we are creating a public art installation outside with ribbons: We are each writing out our commitments to democracy and to #BuildBackFossilFree, on 3-foot long ribbons, then hanging them together.
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