I'm Not Letting This Go - So Here Goes Again
We've been working on incorporating two rules into our daily work. I thought we'd finished with this last week. But, on second thought, I'm not letting this go.
The fact remains, as we get better at this, we will free up more time on a consistent, daily basis, to build up our Interior Life. Our Interior Life is important and the two rules are critical to building it. So expect further repetition of the rules and comments on the rules. If you don't like the rules, or don't think they apply to you, or just don't have the time or gumption it takes to get them to work for you, as they should every day, you might as well skip today's posts - and probably the next one too.
As I said, I'm not letting this go. So here goes again.
In fact, that's how we develop virtues. Virtues are the result of habitual action. Aristotle defines moral virtue as a disposition to behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess, which are vices. We learn moral virtue primarily through habit and practice rather than through reasoning and instruction. For example, you want to strengthen the virtue of charity, you behave charitably to others - again, on a consistent daily basis.
If you think about it, it's how most of us build skills we use in our work, isn't it? Over the course of my lifetime, I've had different jobs in different industries. Each required some common habits like showing up for work on time, providing something of value for my employer, respect for and cooperation with fellow employees, to name a few. But in addition to the habits that apply to any sort of work, different industries or types of business required developing up new skills that I didn't have, or that weren't well-developed.
A most recent example:
I was asked to testify on behalf of a client in a legal matter. This consisted of two depositions and two appearances in court. I had never testified before. My client's attorney took the time (as he should have) to "coach" me so that my testimony would stick with the facts and not allow opposition counsel to trick me into saying things that might damage my client's case. I don't have time to go into details here. Only know that it took quite a bit of time and practice to get down the skills needed. In the end, my testimony proved helpful to my client, who thanked me profusely.
That example illustrates a situation where the skill set I needed had nothing to do with my professional skills or my work experience. So it really was a stretch, albeit a successful one.
Most skill acquisition tends to be more connected to skills you already have in some measure. You may need to sharpen those skills, expand your basic skill set.
But in all cases, it takes repetition, practice, until you can habitually perform the skill required without undue effort or stress. Once you reach that point, you've got another arrow in your quiver.
So now we need to develop the habit of following those two rules. And to develop that habit we need to get them in front of our face every day. Like this:
1. I will always take more time than is necessary to do everything.
This is the way to avoid being in a hurry and getting excited.
2.
Since I will invariably have more things to do than time in which to do
them, and this prospect preoccupies me and gets me all worked up, I
will cease to think about all I have to do, and only consider the time I
have at my disposal. I will make use of that time, without losing a
moment of it, beginning with the most important duties; and as regards
those that may or may not get done, I shall not worry about them.
And, as we saw in recent posts, we take the time to first apply them to this day's work. Having done that, at the end of the day we evaluate: How's we do?
Try this to get started: Post the rules somewhere where they're in front of your face every day when you begin to work. Even better, check the rules at the end of the previous day's work and set your schedule for the next day in consideration of the rules.
Either way, with the rules guiding your work schedule, you get down to your first task knowing you'll have more than enough time to complete what needs completing for that particular day. And when the work day ends, you look back and check how you did. With Rule #2 in mind, you'll probably find more things you could have done. But you're not going get "all worked up" about that. If you used your time well, well, you did your best.
What else can you do?
At least that's how it should work.
Expect another round of this next time. 'Cause I'm not letting this go.
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