Day 4: Lean In with Eagerness

Urgency of Now banner

The second step towards giving full effort for your priorities is leaning in with eagerness. You must create a spark of energy, connect to your excitement for life, and sustain it long enough to accomplish the important things.

If you are remembering your priorities throughout the day, you are probably already building energy. When the time comes to act on one of your priorities - to write your book, or exercise, or paint a banner - you will want to block out distractions, focus your full attention on this one undertaking, and lean in to it with excitement and curiosity. You need to tap in to your personal motivation and determination.

If you feel resistance ("I'm just not in the mood"), or hit a snag ("I can't find the exercise mat"), try to breathe through it, stay with it, and remind yourself of your deepest reasons. Lean in to the discomfort or complexity of the moment- put your shoulder to it. You need persistence and tenacity.

Personal motivation is complex; it's shaped by our internal will but also influenced by our history, and by the expectations and prejudices of those around us. In order to successfully break free of a pattern of weak or incomplete effort, use the notion of "leaning in" as a body-mind-heart training. 

Try it right now - Stand up, picture an intention you have for today, and: 

But even though you are leaning in with eagerness, remember that full effort is not a race; you will want to savor each part of the process. (Picture ducks in a row, gliding on a sparkling lake.) You don’t need to feel guilty or anxious if things are progressing slowly - just love yourself, and your life, with diligence and enthusiasm! And you don’t need to worry about the roadblocks you encounter; just do the work with patience and honor.

Today, get out your journal and make a plan for how you will lean in and spark full and energetic effort day-by-day, for your priorities:

• Brainstorm a list of the things that have worked to motivate you in the past - Do you work best with a team or a partner? Do you like star charts? Do you work for rewards? Do you need upbeat music, or a quiet room? Do you like timer apps, like Pomodoro?

(If you do a Google search of "Ways to motivate yourself" you will find more ideas.)

• Next, form your Full Effort Practices into simple steps. Some ideas:

-At each transition time to a new activity, pause, turn off all distractions, and create a little breathing space.

-Mentally review your deepest reasons for acting, gather supplies together, and pinpoint the first step.

-Line yourself up at a symbolic starting block and blow a mental whistle to focus your mind. Feel the leaning in kinesthetically, mentally, and emotionally.

-Take the first step, and give it all your attention, in the moment. Really savor the process.

-Continue like that, slowly and whole-heartedly. Whenever you feel an urge to stop, repeat your Full Effort Practices to refocus and lean in with eagerness again.

• And then, look at your schedule today and plan one or two times when you will practice your Full Effort Practices! (You might want to add this to your daily Intention Ritual.)