This is the season where I always start reflecting on my life and how I might be able to improve. Where am I weak? What could I be doing to contribute to society, to people I know and care about? December 6th is a date that has always been like my “New Year.” I do not know why December 6th has been a big deal, I think it is because is always falls on just about the weekend after Thanksgiving. After getting some rest and spending time with family, I have time to reflect and hit the pause button. So it always seems that a week after that or so that I have a new lease on life.
Consequently, I am in the stages of consideration now. What life impacting changes am I going to make? What can I do to dramatically improve my situation, my perspective, and my contribution. The old me would have spend days considering some grand new system for self improvement. I would have gotten a burst of energy, created some new complicated series of things that I could do and I would try to implement them next week. Varying degrees of success, but usually failure would be the end result. When I started my 365 commitment, I had a whole new premise which completely changed the outcome. Here I am 693 days later and I am still performing the “system” that I had come up with. The longest stint of keeping anything consistent that I have ever done in my life (well, maybe with the exception of brushing my teeth).
The secret is in a phase that I have been pondering this morning. That is Do Simple Well. You have no business trying to do something incredibly complicated, some elaborate scheme, some new expensive program if you cannot do the simple things well. If you want a place to start, you first inclination should be just to do the simple thing. Do it over and over again until you become consistent and then you will improve over time until it because something you do well. There are so many examples to choose from here. I will propose a few.
If, for example, you wanted to start working out more. Perhaps lifting weights or doing some sort of gym type workout. You could invest in getting a trainer, getting a gym membership, buying expensive equipment, buying all the cool clothes you want OR you could just start doing push-ups everyday. Sure, push-ups are not going to be as effective as a full body gym workout. That is absolutely correct. However, doing push-ups everyday is infinitely better than doing to the gym for a few days and then quitting, not going back and continuing to pay for the membership and never showing up. I suggest starting with the simple. Something easy that you can do, do everyday, repeat, and get good at. Then you can add something. If you can do this simple thing well, then go get a gym membership after that.
Another example would be finances. You have no business investing in stocks, buying risky assets that require management, investing in get rich quick schemes if you are unable to manage the money that you do have. A simple thing like balancing your checking account once a month may sound ridiculously simple, but it is a major feat for most people. If I interviewed 50 people, 1 of them might actually balance their bank accounts once per month. 49 probably do not even know how. This simple act will help you know where your money is going, what ridiculous unnecessary things you are spending your money on and if you are able to spend less then you bring in. Before you get all stressed out about finances and over react by spending money on financial planning, ask yourself this question – can I do this one simple thing well?
Relationships are best served by following this rule as well. Before you go spend a bunch of money on a divorce, family counseling, new diamond rings, a vow renewal ceremony, a fancy sports car perhaps you should consider doing the simple well? Seriously, think about this for a moment. What is the one ingredient that all good relationships require? I thought this through and came up with this one word – time. Relationships require time. Not time fighting, not time dealing with problems, not time telling the other what to do, but time together talking and being around each other. Time is the simple thing. Are you spending time with the person that you value a relationship with? If you are not, and your relationship is estranged, well guess what. That is easy to fix. Just spend time with that person, with no agenda, and watch what happens. Be consistent about it and suddenly you will discover if you can do that simple thing well then suddenly everything else seems great.
I can think of many examples and before you think I am being too preachy about this, I struggle with this concept myself which is why I bring it up. I know that the simple things are always the greatest stumbling block for me. I tend to forget the simple and look to solve the more complex and realize, when it is too late, that it was my ignoring of the simple thing that caused all my grand plans to fail. I am trying to change that, I am on a quest to find the simple and figure out how to do that well.
Guy Reams
