The daily practice of considering what is most important and writing down specific tasks and activities that support and manifest “what is most important” in our lives has tremendous power! This is not simple or easy to do. It requires care and thought, and trust in ourselves to separate the wheat from the chaff and formulate a clear and precise path forward. Each day we are plotting and planning and taking action toward what we deem valuable. How can this not change our lives for the better?!
We are no longer adrift. We are no longer unfocused and murky. We no longer waste precious time (or as much time) doing things that don’t matter. Because we are focused, we avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed or confused.
Specific actions toward our goals allow us to judge the outcomes and determine if they are working. We can know what is working and what is not, we can make course corrections.
Moving toward a goal and being careful each day about how to spend our time and energy simplifies life, reducing uncertainty and anxiety. This is a big help when we find ourselves in difficult times!
So, obviously the 365 Commitment practice of thinking through and writing down targeted tasks/goals each day works! Make the commitment and do what works.
The quality of my daily list has been uneven. I am human and prone to error and distractions. Some days I write down an action item list that I have not spent much time thinking about. I’m in a hurry and don’t connect or evaluate each task in terms of leading me to a future I want; they are just urgent things that needs to get done; often, just life maintenance tasks really. Still, even this is good, because if mundane life maintenance tasks are left unattended they can snowball into bigger problems, so even though my tasks list is sometimes a bit vague or indirectly related to specific life goals, it is still useful in reducing hassles and suffering I would otherwise encounter.
Point is, don’t let perfect be the enemy of progress. Incremental daily progress is progress whether the increments are large or small. Stick with it daily! Work on the quality of the practice. Make today’s list better!
Today I will focus on the quality of my list and choose to do those things that are most important, effective, and relevant to reaching the future state I have envisioned.
I will follow this activity with a sincere and humble prayer of thanks, request for blessing, and alignment with the will of God. Sounds like a good plan!
Ben Wagner (177)
Member The 365 Commitment
