2/26/11

So today I started thinking about goals and motivation. I am the kind of person that never really recognizes improvement. I guess I do every now and then, but for most of my life I have been focused on what isn’t done yet, rather than how much has been accomplished. This can be good and bad. Good because you always have something to work for. It can be bad because if you never recognize how far you have come, or what are presently achieving then it is really hard to stay focused. At least for me it is. In addition when you have more than one goal, you have to prioritize and you may not get to a secondary goal as quickly, and so its easy to become hard on yourself for “falling short” of the secondary goal and missing the fact that you are kicking ass at the first one.

Its hard for me sometimes just cause there are so many things that I want to accomplish, so I am usually very hard on myself, I guess I am a BIT impatient. : ) It always seems like my goal(s) are a million miles away. Today I just really started to understand that everything I am doing right now is working. All of my practices are helping me, and I am always moving forward.

I have to say this new perspective, is extremely pleasant to me. I am able to recognize that the things I am practicing now are not only leading to my present and foreground goal, but my current practices are also helping with those BIG background goals, even if it is just a little bit at a time.

There are so many things I want to do in my life. I have so many ideas, that I want to make tangible, and a lot of times (more than not) I look at myself and I say “WHY ARE YOU NOT WORKING ON THAT GOAL?” What the heck dude? What’s your deal? (Sometimes I deserve a kick in the pa-tooty, but most the time I am working on something)

So I’ll start to wonder what is holding me back, and what I have to change to get better and if I put piece (A) over by piece (B) and then take (C) and put it on top of (D), “Oh! That’s it! That is how I do it!”  And sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t. You see, because of being unable to recognize progress, I would stack up all these things I needed to do, cause I just wasn’t getting far enough fast enough. Then I would just get overwhelmed and not do it anymore, with out realizing the little bit I was doing in the beginning was the perfect amount. All the time I am reminded of my role models and how hard they worked and the amount of effort they put into their life, and game and music, and sometimes it makes me think that I am not working hard enough.

We have to understand it is all about perspective. Sometimes we see other people that we want to be like, and then we look at ourselves and wonder, how on earth am I ever going to be like that with the effort that I am putting in now? A lot of times it doesn’t seem possible. At least that is what happens to me. I will see an inspiring article, or bio on someone that I look up to, and it makes me just want to climb all over myself, up and down and over and under, in and out to try to make my situation and circumstance work better, so that I can be “like Mike” faster. That is the issue right there, because most of the time trying to get there faster back fires.

Every time I read one of those articles or see one of those people, I am trying to relate to them in their present state. I am trying to relate to them AFTER years and years of practice and effort AT A STEADY PACE. Now what I am beginning to see is that I should start to relate to them as they were in the past. When they were in my shoes, and practicing everyday, and constantly moving forward.

Yes it is motivating to see someone who is truly the best at their game, it makes me just want to work that much harder cause I KNOW if they can do it, I can too, but now I am truly understanding the value of not getting thrown off of my cycle or my schedule because of how great they are compared to me. The thing is as long as I am climbing, as long as I am going up the stairs, I am right where I am supposed to be. It never fails though, I always re-evaluate myself every time I see someone who I think has qualities that I want to have, and I never give credit to myself for how far I have already come, and the things I have accomplished and AM ACCOMPLISHING.

I don’t want to ever be idle. I think that has been one of my biggest fears. Being idle can be dangerous, because when you’re idle it is easy to become depressed cause you cant find anything to work for, but being to hard on yourself, or trying to get “there” too fast can be just as dangerous, cause you never get to celebrate how far you have come, and you are always beating yourself up and STRESSING yourself out. Stress is no fun. More than anything now I really feel like in more ways than one I am learning balance. I love how balance presents it self in this situation, because I know I have too many goals to ever be idle, and I have finally learned about the stress from being to hard on myself. Now I realize I am always working at a steady pace to become the best me I can be, at the perfect time, NOW.

If you are like me, and you have a million goals, and they are all a million miles away, take a minute, step back, breathe and look at what you are doing RIGHT NOW. In this moment, what are you doing? And Why? Chances are what ever you are doing right now is happening because of a goal you set in the past or a goal that you have in reachable distance. So give yourself a pat on the back. Give your self a round of applause. Heck! Go get some other people to clap for you! Cause you are awesome. You deserve it. You are in the perfect place, and if you are frustrated cause you think that you aren’t working hard enough, STOP. BE STILL, and understand that all the effort you are putting in right now is the perfect amount, and you are perfect just the way you are.

And if you are idle, and you don’t think you have anything to work for, take a look at what you have done in the past, big or small, and recognize that you can do ANYTHING you want, all you have to do is think about what you LOVE the most out of anything in the whole world. WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST? And anything you do, anyway you move, anywhere you go, as long as you aren’t idle, is taking you towards what you love the most. So think about it, get up, and go get it, a little bit at a time. BREAK DOWN YOUR DREAMS INTO ACHIEVABLE DAILY GOALS.

Peace and love.

DIG THE WORLD! BE ORIGINAL.

 -Joshua Gray