Ask me how I am doing with my 30 minutes of extra effort….

Terrible.  I get an F-. 

Failing is a wonderful thing.  It makes us do one of two things.  We either quit, or we learn.  Quitting is good if we are not giving up.  Learning is good, for it is necessary to get better.

So I’m not quitting… How could I?  Prayer, Exercise, Practice?  All essential to the current mission.  So what did you learn Dorothy? (There’s no place like Home, there’s no place like  …*)

The answer dawned on me as I struggled with the question, “Why was it so easy to do this stuff 15 years ago, but feels impossible now?”  Many people jump to the easy answer….. “It’s because you’re older!”  I wasn’t buying it.  Not one bit.  Something is different and I was determined to sort it out.  I know that most efforts, resolutions and new courses in life require two main ingredients; A strong desire and persistence.

The thing many people would add to that is will power.  OK, when was the last time you gave something up and rationalized it right back into your life?  I don’t care if it was smoking, drinking, weight loss, or a bad boyfriend, at some point you caved in and there you were, right back to or even worse than when you started because when your will power let go, the floodgates of want came with it!

So what is the missing piece?  Environment.  If the environment you have built, prepared, or ignored does not lend itself to supporting the activity, inconvenience will kill any persistence you may have!  Why is it so easy to watch TV, but not to pack your lunch everyday?  Well you set up the couch or recliner to aim at the TV and put a remote control right in front of you to make viewing not only easy, but enjoyable!  We don’t even really have commercial breaks to let us get up to go to the bathroom or throw in a load of laundry.  We are programmed and have built the environment to not only easily do, but enjoy watching TV.

After 3 faithful days of praying and playing guitar, and 3 days of still not knowing which exercise I could seriously add for 10 minutes a day, I watched my plan fade.  I couldn’t leave my guitar in the Living room, and I couldn’t find an ideal time to pray in a place where I have privacy.

The space I had built for music and alone time and planning was over-run with clutter.  Sure I use most of that stuff, don’t I?  Nope, just years of piles and no time to organize, or even the resolve to throw/give away or recycle stuff I will never use or read!

So, my action plan, which started over Christmas break was the rapid cleaning of my office space/sound room and closet of my studio.  Suddenly with the exit of clutter and the knowledge that I can find things faster, comes the idea that I can re-invent the environments I used to have, that allowed me to faithfully do the daily habits and rituals that are necessary to being healthy, productive, and on track as I continue refining my focus.  True quadrant 2 activities!  Now I’m getting on the right track!

Stay tuned, Another blog coming on clutter and our addiction to acquiring and keeping STUFF!

Becky asked a very good Question.  How do we cut back on the hats we are wearing by adding more to do.  She’s right, I skipped a step.  In order to have time to discern purpose and drop hats, I believe we must build good habits to support the changes that will inevitably come.  The idea is to do the foundational things I need and enjoy and make them habits and use those daily activities to improve health, skills and spiritual life.  I picked one daily habit from 3 categories;  Exercise - Health, Praying - Spiritual Life, Guitar Scales - Skill.

Doing just ten minutes a day of each allows me to make 3 ten minute adjustments to my day.  Not adding new activities, but replacing ineffective, unimportant activities such as TV, net surfing and spinning, deciding what to do while accomplishing nothing.  Had I decided to stop watching TV, or pray for an hour, or Play guitar for 2 hours a day, those would be unrealistic and I would feel very much like a failure.  By making small adjustments and replacing or redefining small parts of the day, I can effectively set good habits and replace activies that are a distraction from any mission.

Steven Covey wrote a best-selling book - The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (There is a nice overview here http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~tanguay/7habits.htm )

He talks about the 4 quandrants of activities we choose.  We tend to spend the bulk of our time on activities that are Urgent and Important(Impending deadlines, Emergency Car Repairs, personal Crisis) and Not Urgent and Not Important(Video Games, TV, Internet Surfing) and even Things that are Urgent and Not Important such as running to a sale or cell phone calls  and interruptions.  These quandrant 3 activities can make us very active without being productive.  Have you ever seen someone start cleaning a room and get so focused on re-arranging the furniture or re-organizing the china closet and never finish cleaning the room?

Quandrant 2 activities, which are important but not urgent, are often overlooked, and yet in the long run lead to less quadrant 1 activities.  Prevention and maintenance.  Would you be looking for a new car because the engine in your old car blew up if you’d takem time to get oil changes and regular maintenance?  Relationship building, looking for new opportunities, personal education and taking time to plan, rather than always reacting to the current crisis are all examples of Quadrant 2 activities.

As I examine the hats and take time to weigh what I am called to do, I need to balance in the things I should do.  The things that are required as a good steward of the gifts, talents, and health I’ve been granted.

You know it’s funny.  I get my teeth cleaned 4 times a year.  I brush my teeth at least 3, sometimes 4 times a day.  I floss everyday.  As a matter of fact, I remember to eat everyday, and although not enough at times, I manage to sleep everyday.  I show up for work, every day.  I find time to write and respond to emails every day.  I hug my kids and tell them I love them, every day.

So why is it that I seem to skip other important things every day?

My favorite Jim Rohn Quote is:
“The things that lead to success are easy to do.  The challenge is that they are also easy not to do” - Jim Rohn

I get into amazing patterns of habit.  But it often doesn’t last.  I ran religiously from 1983 or so right up till around 1995.  I rekindled my running spirit, lost 30 lbs and worked back up to 6 mile runs in 2000 - 2002.  But here I am again… 40 lbs overweight and once again trying to build habits.  What is it about our nature that can be so dedicated, almost OCD about things for a period of time, and then we suddenly realize we aren’t doing that thing we loved so much for years?

As Americans, our attention spans are short, our ability to persevere generally small, and our appetites are HUGE!

Nike used to have a slogan… “Just DO it!” That in fact is the secret.  perseverence itself is the key.  Not will power, not self help jargon, and not the latest fad.  The fact is, it is a decision.  I am finding more and more that success in anything is a decision that starts with the words “I Will …”

I think the key to continuing is to overcome our tendencies to be all or nothing and just be consistent.  Momentum comes from repitition, not 1 big effort.  Momentum is maintained by doing a little bit everyday so that even when we fall, we get up and do it again.. Out of habit, out of stubborness and out of an intense desire to be something that we are not.

So for the next 30 days, starting today, I am going to do 3 new things everyday for 10 minutes each.  (If some of these seem small, this is in addition to what I am already doing.)

I am going to add a new exercise for 10 minutes.
I am going to pray for others for 10 minutes.
I am going to practice guitar scales for 10 minutes.

I won’t do them for more than 20 minutes, because I am trying to build a habit, not break records or bolster my pride.  So on Jan 5, 2008, I will have completed 300 minutes of Exercise, 300 minutes of prayer, and 300 minutes of guitar scales.  That’s 15 hours of moving in the right direction.

Slow and steady wins the race.  Moderation should keep us from burning out, and perseverence will see us through.

I pray that you will reach your goals and find your purpose.  Please keep me in your prayers as I struggle to succeed!

Harry Offutt ( http://www.indieheaven.com/artists/harryoffutt )