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Well yesterday was a fairly quiet day. I had things to do but in a very real sense they needed to wait while I rested and recouped for the next round of activities.
It was not that I did nothing. Merril and I went to a prayer time at 6am. When that was finished we went and had breakfast together at an Australian place (formed in 1984 in Tasmania) we like to get breakfast and a coffee. After that we came home and Merril vacuumed while I got together cans and bottles for Cash for Cans. We took them there. When we got home Merril continued to work inside while I got ready for a delivery that was scheduled for later. A mate who I was to meet with rang and called it off due to some activities with others he was involved in that could take longer than expected. After that there was not much Merril and I did. A builder did come and quote on a job. We had organized that and he will do the task later in the week. The delivery we were expecting did not happen and gain was organized or later in the week. We got to see and talk with some friends of ours. Merril did organize a couple of appointments with the doctor for me. Again that was set for later in the week. I have a few issues I would like to get to the bottom of. I have been very happy to see a different doctor as I am totally in favour of getting a second opinion for peace of mind. I will avoid going to that doctor though because of responses to questions I asked and the way he was. It is not often I go to a doctor and he has a cough and appears generally unwell. I asked him what days he has off and he told me he does not have a day off. From the way he appeared that made sense to me. I am a great adherer to having a day to recuperate. I have tried working seven days and it does not work. I felt that on days six and seven my productivity was half a day each day. I really could have worked six days and had the seventh off. Besides, attempting to do something my body is not built to do is counter productive and I end up run down. I never get the rest I need. I need to forget the main purpose I am involved in (not compromise it but put it on the back burner) to increase my effectiveness. Today I am back into stuff but without doubt the rest did me good.
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Here I was sitting thinking I would just write about what has been a quiet few days. Certainly stuff was done but it has mostly been everyday staff with a smattering of building for the future stuff.
But then I picked up a book and had a random look at it. Something in it caught my eye that was said by Abraham Lincoln. “Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. Some things are new ways of saying old stuff and some things are a totally new idea. I felt this was the former as it fits snugly into my philosophy. I am a great one for working backwards. I like to determine what I want and work backwards determining the steps I need to take and the order to achieve the goal. The goal may be as simple as getting cans together to take to Cash for Cans or it could be a life purpose goal like a couple of things I lead in the days ahead. What matters to me is pursuing a worthwhile goal. Benjamin Disraeli said couple of things I read and agreed with. “Action may not always be happiness but there is no happiness without action” and “Well done is better than well said.” I harp on about it but feel it is so true for me. It is actions that means something rather than words. Words matter big time in my mind in that I do not want to speak lack and failure. I do not know what the future holds but I will not help to make a future of lack and failure by dwelling on it and helping to build it. As is widely known we speak what we think and what we think makes me who I am. But by the same token, as Henery Ford said, “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” Thinking and saying good things can only be measured by doing good things. So I hold to what was written. I will determine the thing that can and shall be done and then find a way to do it. Having said that I reckon something else that has stuck with me is good too. I do not think this is necessarily the best way but I do think it is part of the best way. “Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cure for depression." (Dodie Smith) Balance matters. There is a time for action and a time for rest. I will find a way to do something and to avoid burnout getting needed rest is always a part of the way. …Many of the important things in life cannot be "finished." Do not approach an endless game with a finite mindset. The objective is not to be done, but to settle into a daily lifestyle you can sustain and that allows you to make daily progress on the areas that matter. Embrace the fact that life is continual and look for ways to enjoy the daily practice."
This was part of a quote from the James Clear email. It rings very true with me. There are many tasks that I do on a regular basis that I have to do again. It is never final. Mowing the lawn for example. I mow but the grass grows again and I need to mow again. He mentions things like work, parenting, exercise. They all need to be done consistently. That even applies to work in my mind. After retiring a person needs to work. Without something to look forward to a person stops and that can be the end of the story. I knew two people that had very different outcomes. One had nothing planned after work and lasted six months while the other was continually learning and doing and lasted 30 years after retirement. I think what was said is great. There are many things that may seem mundane that need doing on a regular – even daily basis. If I resent the doing, I will not do it well and instead of continuous improvement I experience continuous decline. If on the other hand I continually look for ways to improve the mundane I can make the everyday an adventure. I did like my work, as every few years it changed. My title did not change but the methodology of what I did did change and kept me interested. I am doing that sort of thing right now. There are things in my life and things I have built into my life I know matter. They are not the “one off” things I may enjoy but the every day things. Enjoyment is not the prerequisite of doing, necessity is. But in that I know I can choose to make something interesting. The way it is done may change but the outcome remains the same. What needs to be done is done. I choose adventure over duty. More of the same does not represent boredom but challenge. |
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