I enjoyed these brief and meaningful reflections on the concept of starting small from
Kelly Forrister at The David Allen Company.
Start small. Undercommit and overdeliver...Then expand out from there.
David has said it can take 2 years to become "Black Belt" with GTD [Getting Things Done]. Might as well enjoy the road along the way!
How many times in our lives do we avoid projects because they "feel" big, and "seem" overwhelming?
What is overwhelm anyway? The most common
definition of the word, originating from 1300's Middle English -
to overcome completely in mind or feeling - tells me that we sense there is something bigger than us "out there".
We're right. But is that really something to be afraid of? I am reminded from my experiences in
Insight, that taking risks and stepping into a bigger more authentic reality is a key to success.
In the next few days I'll be ramping up to a 28-day professional seminar, which I intend to use to transform myself and the way I facilitate learning for others. It's a major project and I can certainly appreciate overwhelm when I look at the number of time-sensitive projects and actions to complete before and around that. Thankfully I also have the reference point of having just completed perhaps an even more significant project, the final examination for a two years Master's in Psychology.
The completion of this culminating project, which took me over 30 hours, has automatically bumped me up to a higher perspective about my work/play/life. Life is a process; no matter how hard we struggle towards an ultimate goal, there is always more to do and more to learn (until of course there isn't).
Maybe there is no way to "overcome" overwhelm. If there is something bigger than us out/up/in there (at least several billion people on the planet believe so), then it's high time we stop trying to overpower life and instead strive to become bigger to match that which was inside of us all along.
Sometimes it's not easy to call ourselves out, to expect more from ourselves today than we did yesterday. That's why we need leaders to tell us things like,
"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." - Emerson
We need inspiration, connection, and motivation to move beyond resistance and into expansion. Sometimes it's a politician on TV, and other times it's your mother. I sit here tonight in total gratitude for the many individuals who have stepped forward to support me through all of my life's adventures. (This is for you.)
Next Action:
Take
two minutes to write a note of appreciation to someone who has supported you. You won't regret it.
More to come on:
- Why completion gives you altitude
- Natural Review Times vs. The Weekly Review
- Gratitude and attitude