Hit Those Ships!

I started writing a blog today and it took me almost two hours, because I allowed distractions and because I wasn’t sure of my message.  The lesson here is to keep writing despite doubts or distractions.  There is part of me who wants to be mad at myself for allowing the same old enemies in, but this is what everyone who wants to improve his or her life goes through.  You move forward and then you move back.  But there are usually more forward movements than backwards movements.  In other words, it’s three steps forward and two steps back.  So, discouragement is not necessary.  The truth is we can never go backwards.  We can stay still and stuck in the same place, but we can’t go backwards.  Even the smallest steps forward count.

So that blog I just wrote and sweated over, on and off, for two hours – what becomes of that?  I don’t know.  I might delete it.  That’s okay.  Or I might edit it.  That’s okay, too.  It doesn’t matter.  What matters is what I do right now.  At this moment, all that matters is that I keep working, keep writing, and stay in my Purpose without doubts or distractions.  If I fail at this, if I allow doubts and distractions, then I keep writing anyway.  Most of us don’t take seriously enough our own power of self-sabotage, but it’s powerful indeed.  It cannot be underestimated.  All I can do then is keep working.  I cannot give up.  More importantly, I cannot allow my failings to keep me from doing my work.

In other words, yes, I am easily distracted.  So what?  Keep working.

Yes, I am struggle with doubts.  So what?  Keep working.

What’s required in Purpose is presence and consistency.  So I just stay consistent, every single moment, one step at a time.  I remember when I used to run.  I had only been running for a few weeks and, for some reason, one run seemed harder than normal.  I wasn’t sure where my fatigue or lack of motivation came from, but it was definitely there.  So I told myself, “Just take one more step.”

That’s what I did.  I took just one more step.  Then I took one more.  Then one more…and so on and so on.  Soon I was finished with my run.  It wasn’t my best or my fastest run, but I completed it and that’s all that matters.

Today I didn’t do my best or my fastest work, but I’ve completed it and that’s all that maters. 

There’s an old video game called Galaga.  I’m pretty good at it, but I played a friend who was much better.  My strategy was better, but he was the better player because he hit more ships.  This is the way to win, to be successful.  Hit more.  Do more.  Put in more time.  Whatever it is you want to do, put in more time.  If you want to be a teacher, start a new life, get a new job, learn a new subject, or improve or strengthen your relationships, put in more time.  Every moment you invest in your Purpose is like hitting another ship.  Eventually you will score more points. This doesn’t mean your ship won’t get hit once in a while.  You will definitely take hits.  It doesn’t matter.  Just keep firing.  Every hit you make is a tiny victory.  The victories don’t have to be big or sexy.   You just have to hit.  So, literally, every word I type, every second I put in, counts.  Every moment I work is a moment of victory.  The big victories will come soon enough. 

For now, just hit as many enemy ships as you can.  Take a class.  Read one chapter of a book.  Clean your place.  Get a cell-phone.  Take your kids out and do something fun.  Go for a walk.  Put in 30 minutes towards your Purpose.

Here’s the good news:  even if you have what seems like a setback, you have still accomplished a victory.  The victory comes, above all, in the time you’ve put in.  But it might also be in a lesson learned or a new idea.  Sometimes our worst experiences become our best lessons, our best stories, and even our best memories.  As long as we put the time in, there are no losses.  Get Started.  Keep Going.  Hit those ships.