Giving Up?

I haven’t written a blog in two days.  Was it the Enemy?  Did it defeat me?  Or did I just choose to do other things?  Does it matter?  No.  What matters more is that I’m writing now.  I’m doing a lot these day.  This is not an excuse.  I’m always doing a lot.  We’re all doing a lot.  I chose to spend my time on other things.  I could have written a blog yesterday, but it would have been rushed and I would have felt stressed.  I’ve written under those circumstances before, but I chose not to do so yesterday.

There are two trains of thought when being in Purpose.  One is that I should never let up.  Never.  I should never quit or retreat.  I should be working every day.  The other principle is self-care.  I should rest, take care of my relationships and be vigilant about the areas of my life.  Which is true?  Both of them.

Life is life.  I have my goals, my objectives and my tasks.  I work towards them every day.  I’m well aware of my deficits.  I still don’t read enough.  I don’t get enough sleep.  I don’t spend enough time with the people I love.  I rarely have a day in which I complete all my tasks.  But I do what I can.  That is not an excuse, nor a rationalization.  My life is what it is.  Can I do better?  Of course.  Am I doing the best I can?  Perhaps, but mostly yes. 

What helps is to take a long-term view of things.  I may not have written a blog in two days, but I’ve written over 475 in less than a year and a half.  I still speak, teach, motivate and spend time with the people I love.  I still read and work and do what I need to do.  I just don’t get it all done right away or even when I’d like.  This is why the long-term view helps.  Rather than beating myself up with my deficits, I am able to see that my accomplishments are still valid and I’m inspired to accomplish even more.  Beating myself up is the emotional equivalent of…well…getting beat up.  If I beat myself up, I invite others to do the same. 

So, instead, I will just write a little longer.  Then I will do meet my other commitments.  I know I may not accomplish everything.  This doesn’t mean I won’t try, but I won’t make it a trial.  I will enjoy the gifts I have been given.  I will view my commitments as opportunities.  Most of all, I will do what I need to do with peace, love and joy.  If I can’t, then maybe I shouldn’t be doing those things.

One of the first signs that I am out of balance is when the commitments I love become drudgery.  At that point I have to ask myself if I’m just tired, or if it’s time to end a particular endeavor.  What makes this difficult is that there are not always easy answers.  I have found it to be a rule of thumb, however, if something has stopped being fun for a long time, it may be time to stop.  Whatever I do, stop or keep going, I think a commitment of the will is important.

Life may be hard, but it shouldn’t be difficult.  I believe most of the choices set before us are straightforward.  I also think we may things far more complicated than they need to be by being too hard on ourselves.  I should be doing the things that make me happy and help make life better for others.  Both are important ingredients.  One without the other doesn’t usually work.

The process that invites me to Get Started and to Keep Going should be fun.  Yes, it should be work and I should be diligent.  At the same time, it should be joyful.  I’m not giving up.  I didn’t give up yesterday.  I just stopped.  Now I’m going again.  I invite you to do the same.