Do It Now!
Dear friends,
My spiritual teacher had a phrase he often used (even writing a book with this title). I'd like to share why this is an important phrase and how and why we sometimes get it wrong.
There is a core human belief that we have a very limited amount of energy, and that conserving it is a great idea. While there is of course some truth to this thought, it gets misapplied often and to our detriment.
If you are ever in a down mood, go for a run. You won't want to, because you have been caught by a passing mood which convinces you that everything is too hard. But if you go for that run I can virtually guarantee that you will feel noticeably better by the end. Interesting.
Our resistance to doing it now is partially rooted in the vague hope that either we will actually want to do it later, or maybe that it will go away. I have a friend who used to manage a decent-sized enterprise. He had a pile of papers in one corner of his desk. I once asked what they were and he said, "That's the pile of tasks I hope will go away. And, you know, some of them eventually do!" Hmmm... I am not sure that's the best strategy. I have never seen Management by Neglect recommended as a viable approach!
When managing an enterprise the question ought to be "what needs to happen", not "what do I feel like doing". Putting the item aside "for now" does a few things:
1) You feel slightly guilty because you know it ought to be done now. An item or two is not an issue, but generally our lives are littered with things like this, and they take a toll on our consciousness over time. We become like Gulliver tied down by thousands of small threads, each of which is individually insignificant, but en masse are immobilizing.
2) It takes more time later, which is why it ought to be done now. At the very least if it is at all complicated, you need to mentally re-engage with it later and start fresh.
3) It may well cost more money (in time as described above, or actual monetary cost).
May we learn to embrace whatever presents itself and find each small task an opportunity to "Do It Now!” If right to put aside, let us do it from center and not from mere personal preference. The deep freedom to choose is the only real freedom there is.
Blessings,
David G., manager
For the staff at East West