On Balance

I signed on to http://quitnet.com this morning and read the "Daily Motivation" that one member posts every day. It really spoke to me and I want to share it:

AGAIN AND AGAIN

A large single effort can rarely match the power and influence of a small effort that is repeated over and over again. The more you repeat your thoughts and actions, the stronger they become.

Even the smallest effort, if it is performed consistently for a long enough time, can make an enormous difference. Lasting success and achievement are built one step at a time, over time -- not in a one-shot attempt. If you desire to win big, then the surest way to do it is to win little, over and over again.

If you think you're short on resources, or skill, or opportunity, think again. Do what you can, with what you have, as often as you can. Though the single efforts may be small, they add up to an enormous influence.

Make time your friend. Make time work for you by using it to multiply your effectiveness. Keep going. Keep working. Keep making the effort, again and again. Keep it up for as long as necessary and you'll get exactly where you wish to go.

-- Ralph Marston

This is the key, in my life, for achieving the elusive "balance"  about which I hear people speak. Doing a little, each day, consistently, toward the goal, seems to bring achieving the goals within reach and in a balanced way.

The down side to doing a little each day toward a goal, slow and steady, like clockwork, is it leaves very little room for the big grandiosity that has become my signature stamp.  You know what I'm talking about.  "I'm going on a diet"....so I run out and sign a year's contract at the gym, buy 7 brand new outfits, one for each day, purge everything from my kitchen and replace it with 100% "fit" and "healthy" food and drink, announce to the world I'm officially "doing it", neglect everything else for a couple of weeks, then crash hard....all the veggies in the fridge turn to mush while I'm popping bon bons on the couch, deflated and demoralized.  Of course, that's all made up, right?  I wouldn't actually do that, right?  Pffffffffffffft.  Repeatedly.

This time around, I'm shooting for balance.  I really really am.  Okay, so there's the whole "announce it to the Internet" thing, and the "go get a treadmill" thing, and the "do a whole room makeover thing" and the "get a personal trainer thing" .... but believe it or not, this IS balance.  I work out in the morning, then if time permits, write the blog (sometimes I do that at night.)  Then get my arse to work.  Then do whatever needs done.  Maybe a little dust mopping?  Or dishes?  Maybe run the vacuum?  My house is typically presentable, or could be made presentable in 10 minutes.  Those of you who know me understand this is pretty freaking cool and indicative of a new kind of balance for me!

Slow and steady.  Do a little workout.  Do a little housekeeping.  Pay one bill today, another tomorrow.  I don't want to jinx myself, but by golly I think through making small next right choices each day on what to eat, when to get moving, when to get cleaning, etc., I am so very close to making balance the norm.  Heck, I might even stop creating major crises for myself if I keep this up.  That's a little scary.  :-)

♥♥♥