A Life of Priorities – Part II
(If you haven’t read Part I, click here.)
Break it Down into Digestible Parts
The thing that was overwhelming about doing the musical was that I had no idea how to make the whole, finished, polished product happen.
Isn’t that true about so many things in life?
How do you learn a foreign language?
Or build a tiny home on your own?
Or create a thriving new business?
It’s the answer to the proverbial question,
“How do you eat an elephant?”
The answer?
“One bite at a time.”
For the musical, I had to look at the finished product that I desired for the performance and break down the elements into segments over time: Songs and spoken parts this month, choreography next month, and the staging and scenery the last month. And those parts were broken even smaller so that weekly I knew what part to give each kiddo so that they could succeed at hitting the mark while enjoying the process of learning the show.
I know for me, after I got sick and gained 100 pounds, the thought of losing 100 pounds was daunting. You might as well have said I had a million pounds to lose with how unattainable it felt at times.
And you want to know what was really getting in the way? Not just the ridiculously high amount of poundage that there was to lose,
But that my desire was to lose it quickly.
(And totally a WHOLE other story was how I judged myself SO harshly for being fat. THAT was a journey in and of itself…)
Well, as much as you can diet and exercise, unless you cut off your head or your left leg or something, you’re not going to lose 20 pounds overnight. You’re just not.
It takes time and breaking the goal down into digestible pieces.
A goal of 1 pound a week can turn into 4 pounds a month which can turn into 48 pounds in a year. Or with some focus, 2 pounds a week can turn into 8 pounds a month which can turn into 96 pounds in a year.
That little bit every day of making small choices at every meal, that add up to big results, is what gets you there.
Do something every day toward your goal and one day you will find yourself there.
Enroll the Help of Others
As fabulous as you are, you are not an island, or the Lone Ranger, or Superwoman.
You are a person with a distinct set of gifts and you are in a community called ‘Humanity’ who has its own set of unique strengths, too.
With my musical, I needed the gifts and support of the moms and dads who helped make the sets, rehearsed kids with their lines in one room while I rehearsed kids with songs in another. There were parents who brought me meals so I wouldn’t have to worry about cooking during late rehearsals and teachers who surrendered their daily plan to help me do final runs of the show, and on and on and on…
I could have NEVER done the whole thing alone — and I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if I had tried. Having others share their gifts was an encouragement to my heart and an added blessing to our performance. It was a community effort. I was guiding it with vision, but the support and strengths of others made it this gorgeous bouquet that reflected our school because we were all invested and wanted this show to succeed. That energy was important to the success of our program.
I have to admit, the middle parts of life are challenging to me sometimes. When I was working on my CD projects or my book writing efforts or anything really — the middle is when I felt like all it was messy and it was never going to get finished. That is when I needed to “Phone a Friend” and bring in others who could help me to see the finish line again because with them I didn’t feel so fatigued and alone.
There is power in bringing others in.
Share the Vision Often — Especially During the Hard Times.
This goes hand-in-hand with the step above about enrolling others. The way we do that is by sharing the vision often.
What inspired us.
What made us say, “Yes!”
What is the finished result going to be like?
How are you going to feel when you’re done?
Sharing those answers will not only enroll others to join you in the process, it enrolls YOU back to the “why” you were doing it to begin with and it REMINDS you of what is powerful about taking the next steps until this project is completed.
Wanting to lose weight, save money, find a relationship, start a business, build a home or some other grand dream?
Get clear on your “Why” and keep it in front of you often.
And when you feel like you’re lost in middle of the messiness and heat, call someone and share with them your vision and what excited you about it — and suddenly you won’t find yourself so alone, or so overwhelmed anymore.
Sharing is truly caring — in this case, for you. It helps you to see what you’ve lost sight of.
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So, wow. Good stuff here! What is the goal or vision you have for an area of your life but you were feeling in the middle of it all like wanting to give up and walk away from your dream?
Can you break it down into smaller parts?
Can you enroll the help of others to support you right now?
Can you share your vision with some friends or family to help reignite your flame?
All of those are great ways to get through those sticky times.
Trust me, you’re not alone. You’re up to great things because there’s greatness within you.
Don’t give up. You’re not done yet. Just keep going, one, small, supported step at a time.
And stay tuned…
The last three BOW are coming in next week’s newsletter on this topic…
It’s all so good and it’s all for you.
