Everyday Transformation
Daily actions toward goals will get you where you want to go. Aim for better, not perfect. Small changes add up.
Does your day run you or do you run your day? Small changes lead to big impacts. Most of the great things in life happen because we’ve done a lot of small, good things, day after day. It’s frustrating, but it’s true. This is an argument for slow and steady winning the race. Don’t worry about missing out on opportunities. You’ll gain momentum as you go and you’ll see more opportunities than you would have if you had been rushing things.
In the ancient text, The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Paramahansa Yogananda, says in Chapter 11, verse 58, “When the yogi, like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs, can fully retire his senses from the objects of perception, his wisdom manifests steadiness.” Control of the senses is for protection from the invasiveness of the world. If we want to cultivate qualities of the “Self-realized” and have that constant calm, we can cultivate daily habits that align with our bigger goals. Only when we can continually focus on what’s really important to us on a deeper level can we feel at peace with what we’re doing.
Making progress is healthy living and improving your eating habits day after day is healthy. Hurrying is the opposite. Hurrying is a fearful way to live. Usually when we hurry, we wind up screwing up, or going 100 miles an hour in the wrong direction. A lifetime of unhealthy eating habits can take some time to change. It’s about making progress.
Progress, not necessarily perfection, is what makes a successful day. The roadblocks to progress are distractions. Especially now, when so many of us are working from home, we are surrounded by entertainment, we have unclear work hours and the kitchen is always open. Distractions and temptations are going to come up. Taking daily actions for gradual improvement isn’t as exciting as overnight transformation, but it gets the job done. Take heart. Things can happen faster than you think.
Tune in. When you’re calm and in the zone, you don’t have to go through life mindlessly reacting in a panic, like a spinning paramecium.
Changing habits takes patience and practice. Instant transformation is possible, but how will you be able to act in a new way without having practiced it? Without letting it become your new identity as a healthy, adaptable eater? Without embedding it into your psyche or tattooing it into your personality with each tap of the ink, over and over? Show yourself your new identity and the belief in your new identity will carry you beyond obstacles to your goals.
Faith is an antidote to hurrying. It often takes faith to overcome the impulse to rush while taking action, and faith takes some effort. It takes effort to have faith that you will not run out of time, starve, or miss your shot or take the wrong action. Faith in who you are becoming.
In the tortoise and the hare story, the message is about respect for the tortoise’s self-discipline to steadily keep moving with purpose. The hare is very motivated, but lacks the power of discipline. The word discipline makes most of us recoil and want to rebel instantly, but it just means being a disciple. We are all disciples to, or serving something at all times. We can either follow our ego and rush competitively, or follow a steady course toward the goal. Discipline with purpose beats motivation.
Immerse yourself in your vision, see yourself as a healthy eater and feel what that feels like. To add something like home cooking into a packed schedule, take a hard look at what you’re doing now. Where can you combine actions with what you’re already doing? What can you clear out of your day that you don’t actually need to be doing? What are your most important goals? What feels important, but isn’t important toward your goals? Try to get out of argument mode and into brainstorming, inspiration mode. If you get stuck with circular goal setting - meaning one thing can’t be done until some other thing is done, and around in circles - Stop! Relax. Is it true or are you arguing against change? Usually it has to do with doing something you don’t want to do. Get out your list of rewards and get that stuff done.
What new habit can be added into your morning routine? Can you listen to an audiobook while making breakfast, for example? If you want to change your life, then you have to change things you do in your life. You can get a lot done in a half hour. You have choices.
Deliberately let go of judgment, develop a daily routine that supports your goals and fully commit, with a wise smile in your heart, every day.
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