You don’t have to take a GIANT step in the direction of your goal. It can be a tiny, baby step. But for it to be effective, you must take the step every day. You must cross the bridge.
Someday Isle
Imagine you live on an island. Call it Someday Isle. You know, someday I’ll start my diet. Someday I’ll look for a better job. Someday I’ll start saving for retirement. Someday I’ll write my book. Someday I’ll take better care of myself. Someday I’ll be happy. Someday Isle. Someday Isle. Someday Isle. [1]
As you see, there are lots of folks who live with you on Someday Isle. However, you know something many of them don’t know. You know that there is another island close by Someday Isle. It is Today Isle. And there is a bridge linking Someday Isle and Today Isle.
Today Isle is where you do most of your working and playing and interacting in meaningful ways with your family, friends and loved ones. But you have to cross the bridge to get from Someday Isle to Today Isle. Most of the people who live on Someday Isle don’t even know the bridge is there.
Cross The Bridge
Here’s the thing to keep in mind. Every morning, you wake up on Someday Isle. To get to Today Isle, where your goals and pursuits and your real life are taking place, you have to cross the bridge. You have to cross the bridge every day. Every day you have to cross the bridge. Every day. Cross the bridge.
What is the bridge to Today Isle? For some, it may be a time of daily meditation and prayer. Or it may be a daily exercise routine. For others, a time to read and reflect on scripture or other inspirational material. It may be planning out meals in order to eat healthful, nutritious food. Perhaps the bridge is planning daily activities to be sure they include tasks in pursuit of an important goal.
For me, it is focusing on the fundamentals — moving, eating, and sleeping. Each day, I want to be sure I’ve had enough sleep, that I’m feeding my body high-quality fuel, and that I get in some physical activity. When I do these things, I am better able — and more inclined — to engage in my life . . . to create the life I want to live.
Find Your Bridge
What bridge do you need to cross each day to get to Today Isle? Here are some questions to help you find your bridge.
Do you have a morning and an evening routine in place? An evening routine to help you wind down and let your body and brain know it’s time for rest and sleep? And a morning routine to get your day off to the best possible start? “The first hour sets the tone for the day,” says Brian Tracy. “The things that you do in the first hour prepare your mind and set you up for the entire day.” By the way, getting the morning off to a good start begins the night before with getting enough sleep.
Are you minding the fundamentals? In his book, Eat Move Sleep, Tom Rath tells us that if we focus on the basics of taking care of ourselves — proper nutrition, adequate activity, and plenty of sleep — a synergy develops and we begin an upward spiral. Don’t focus only on diet, or exercise, or even sleep — look for ways you can make small, daily, incremental improvements in all 3 areas together. This is certainly a bridge worth crossing.
Questions For Bridge Crossing
What is one thing you could start doing that could have a major impact? You already know what this is . . . you may even be doing it now, at least from time to time. How can you do it more consistently, every day?
What is one thing you could stop doing that could have an impact? Intuitively, you know what this is, but it may take courage to admit it and to face it. To access your intuition, try this: Quiet your body and your mind. Take several deep breaths, exhaling slowly, to get to a calm, relaxed state. Place your hand or hands over your heart and ask your heart “brain” if it has a message for you. Alternately, or in addition, listen to a gut feeling you may have.
Consider adopting a daily spiritual practice (regardless of your beliefs). This might include prayer, meditation, chanting, reading and contemplating a passage from the wisdom literature, or a physical activity that promotes healing, such as Qigong, Tai Chi, or yoga. A few minutes spent daily in one of these activities can have life time benefits. It can also help you stay calm and focused during the bustle of your day.
Cross The Bridge Every Day
Don’t concern yourself about how many times you have to cross the bridge until next Wednesday or until July or until next year. You can’t run back and forth across the bridge to “stock up” for the future.
Your job – and the only thing you have to consider in this regard – is to cross the bridge today. You don’t have to think or worry about crossing it tomorrow, or next month, or next year. Simply cross it today.
Small, imperceptible changes day by day, lead to major changes over time. The key is to make a habit of the practices or activities you decide upon. Just for today . . . cross the bridge.
Excelerated self-discipline™ — doing what you say you will do — is one step in creating your Excelerated life™, a life of well-being, meaning, and purpose.
Read more about the Excelerated Life™.
Footnote:
[1] I credit Brian Tracy with the idea of Someday Isle. Thank you, Brian!
Resources:
Rath, Tom. Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes. Arlington, VA: Missionday, 2013
