Fighting the Wind

Four times a year, an invisible line creeps through our world just outside the detection of the human eye. Some lands are plagued far more than others. A warming embrace rises from beneath the icy layer of Winter, making way for Spring.

Oftentimes we wary travelers relish in the coming season. Gentle winds, cooling rains, and soothing birdsongs bring smiles to our wary souls. Yet, we often overlook what winter has left in its wake. Beneath the ice and snow, leaves remain. A simple gust of wind stirs them from their slumber, placing them directly in the path of our eager feet. To some, this is a natural occurrence. To others, it is a symbol of the chaos that a new season brings. New challenges and new goals abound. Many tend to fall to the wayside as our hectic lives take hold, and organization goes on the wayside.

Picture this: you are walking down a road. The song of your favorite bird soothes your mind, and the gentle breeze gives you a moment of clear concentration. You set your goals for the day and told yourself that nothing will stand in your way. Then, your foot hits a wet leaf, and you begin sliding off into a different direction. A new distraction has occurred. It is just one, so you easily get back on track. Then another wet leaf, and another... Before long, you are in treading in so many different directions that your original goal for the day has been forgotten. You blink, and it's evening. Time to head home, rest, and get ready for another productive day tomorrow.

How often does this happen to you?

If you are like me, this happens far too often. To the point where weeks and even a month or more can go by without achieving any goals. Over time, I have attempted many tips and tricks at sweeping the leaves off of my path, yet they always return with the next gusts of wind. So how can we combat a force of nature that cares nothing of our plans and goals for the day? A million-dollar question, if there ever was one.

Gather around travelers, and let me share some of the things that I have learned from my own adventures. Who knows, some of it may just work for you!

~***~

"Sir, how exactly does one fight the wind?" You ask, enjoying your favorite appetizer and drink from the local tavern you have found yourself in.

Well, my newfound friend, I will share with you the top three things that I have discovered in my travels. Each of these can work well on its own. But are even stronger when molded to your own personality and lifestyle. So let's dive right in before your drinks go stale and food cold. Ready? Good.

The first technique, write down your 'Why.' for every goal.

I can see the confusion in your eyes, so allow me to explain. We as a species are masters at wasting time. There are a million and one distractions that can veer us off course, and more often than not none of them are aiding us in accomplishing what we want to accomplish. I often ask people why they emphasize on these time-wasting activities, and the answer is more or less the same every time. They forget their why.

Why do they want to accomplish what it is they want to accomplish. Most don't know the answer when you ask them. You may hear them say it is because x person wants them to do it, or society tells them they have to. That usually isn't the real why, but a mask over it. Whatever your goals may be, ask yourself why at least three times. Go back to those days of being a kid, annoying your parents with the constant why question until they yell at you. When you ask yourself this enough times, eventually, the real answer will be made clear. You can then decide if this goal is something worthwhile and something you can dedicate yourself to and tune out distractions.

Here is an example:

The goal; to make more money. Ashley wants to make as much money as possible at her job.

Why #1

"So that I can purchase all of the things I want, become the envy of my friends."

Why #2

"So I don't have to worry about if the bills will be paid while living the life I want."

Why #3

"So I can make sure my son has everything he needs to succeed, and I can teach him that with hard work and dedication, he can achieve anything he wants without having to make significant financial sacrifices that will negatively influence his way of life."

Now, we could keep going, and the above example is just that, an example. See, when we started, Ashley seemed very superficial in her why. However, the deeper we dug, we found that she really wants to create a good environment for her son. Let me ask, which of these three whys do you think could be used to combat the chaos of the world we live in? My bets are on the third one.

So go ahead and try this exercise. Pick a goal, any goal, and ask yourself why three times (or more if you feel it would help). You may arrive at a reason you didn't even know existed.

Secondly, identify actionable steps to help you achieve said goals.

If you head on down to your favorite information repository (Google, library, etc.) and make a simple inquiry of 'goal setting tricks.' You will find thousands upon thousands of results. Each one different and will fit with a different personality. Yet, regardless of these differences, they all share a common, core framework that you can mold to fit yourself.

That framework is SMART. Organizations and individuals that turn their goals into SMART goals see greater success and find that this natural defense causes the wind to die down rather than flare up and place more leaves on your path.

SMART stands for Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. When I go through my goals, especially the more long term ones, outlining each of them with this framework has made it significantly easier to get these goals into the proper scope, and rake the leaves away that would cause issues with attaining them.

Finally, practice daily meditation.

Okay okay, this may be a bit strange at first. If you haven't meditated before, it will be unusual until you get the hang of it.

Choose a time of the day where you have uninterupted moments to just sit and focus. Focus on a goal, a body part, anything. Do this for at least 10 minutes a day. It will be difficult, distractions will seep in and try to pull you in many different ways. There is no trick to make them stop, other than repetition, practice, and patience. Each day, choose something and focus on that. Over time, the leaves will stop being blown into the path. They will start fo blow away when you come through rather than move to impede progress.

As these leaves get removed, you will begin to see what is truely important in your daily life. Your organization will improve, and solutions to problems that otherwise seemed impossible will be made clear. Each of the above tips do work on their own, but if you apply them together, and even with other organizational systems you may have heard about, you will find Spring to be just as peaceful as the calmness of winter. Go forth, weary traveler, and conquer your goals!