D — Do Our Best
Originally posted at http://tarsoxjr.blog
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Do our best at what we are responsible for currently.
“Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might.” Ecclesiastes 9:10
Man right out of the gate this one hit me in the mouth. I had become a 9 to 5er and certainly wasn’t doing my best at what I was “responsible for currently.” Don’t get me wrong there was still lots to be done on a daily basis and plenty of long hours but not fulfilling hours. I ended up here for many reasons, some of which were my own fault, but it was a place I never intended to find myself. I was unenthusiastic, cynical and just had an overall feeling of being stuck in the mud. I would still have good days and bad days but I was no longer making progress toward my goals or seeing change and ultimately I knew this is why it was time for a different path.
As I went through latter half of last year things became really challenging. I thought something has to give. Fortunately, we were given mandatory time off from Christmas through the New Year. I said to myself “if I just make it to that” certainly I can recharge my batteries and come at this with a fresh outlook for 2017…that was the idea anyway. I wasn’t sure how to do this so I, of course, turned to God and Google and found this DECISION acrostic. “D — Do my best at what I am responsible for…” Crap! Why couldn’t it be “just take it easy and slack off”??? However, after reading through the rest of the letters it made a lot of sense. We are where we are for a reason and if we can’t give it all we have then we are questioning why God has put us here, right now.
So I did it, I refocused my efforts, began planning for the year and working toward being present in what I am doing. The first thing I did was turned to my organization skills and started reading up on what new things were out there that could make me more efficient (one of my favorite past times). I came across a method called Pomodoros which, like I do with most things, I adapted to fit me. I came up with a clear list of priorities that I prepared each afternoon/morning and numbered them priority 1, 2 and 3. I would dedicate 25 minutes of uninterrupted time to each task and was really happy with the results I began seeing and was making progress!…finally. Now, let me say I NEVER do things like this every single day for months on end but it’s a place I can recenter myself when needed.
I still had daily frustrations but it wasn’t because I didn’t give that day my best. I was able to focus on what I was responsible and my days went by smoother, I had more enjoyment. This is opposed to where I was before just wishing the time away. A friend warned me around the middle of last year, “don’t wish the year away” and unfortunately I did do that…but I wasn’t going to go into 2017 with the same attitude. I did my best more days than not and I focused on living out the other letters in the acrostic as well.
It is amazing when you really focus yourself how much you can affect your attitude and productivity on a daily basis. The days with no focus seem to drag on forever and ever, probably because you realize that tomorrow, the next day and the next will likely be the same so why even try. This creeps into other areas of life as well…I don’t exercise, I eat too much and am just generally tired most of the time. I start to make poor choices and next thing I know that’s who I am…every day. I got to where I didn’t like myself too much and I began to feel like I was stuck but instead, I focused and took control of my days and attitude and the answer started to come clearer.
If I can give one piece of advice it will be the advice I was given…do not wish your life away. It is so easy to do this but what you miss out on is what you are being called to do every day and that could just be worse than “what you are are responsible for currently”.
Next post E — Enter Into More Quiet Time
