2 Resolutions To Help Us Keep Our Lenten Discipline No Matter How Busy We Are at Work - 2
We'll continue with our 2 Resolutions to help us keep our Lenten discipline no matter how busy we are at work. We've already established the importance of organizing our work such that we can efficiently perform our tasks within defined time frames. With that, we won't exhaust our time and effort on work tasks alone. We'll have time and energy left to be faithful in our spiritual plan for Lent - even during the busiest days.
At least that's the theory.
But it will work if we apply ourselves diligently to our work in this organized, efficient manner. And it will work if we have the serious intention to keep our Lenten discipline, no matter that the work day throws at us...
...always with God's grace, of course.
The role of the 2 Resolutions will be to serve as a sound, reliable foundation in our Lenten endeavor. To refresh our memories, here again are those Resolutions:
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.
If you read these carefully, they may seem opposed to organizing our work within defined time frames. But they're not.
The purpose of #1 is to establish the important discipline of not, as #1 says, being in a hurry and getting excited. Think about it. If we're in a hurry and all excited, we'll be running around like a chicken without a head, never mind working up an anxious sweat. Will this be amenable to our keeping a challenging Lenten discipline at the workplace. Won't it rather cause us to obsess on getting this or that task done in a never-ending stream of pressured deadlines - most of which will likely be self-imposed?
Making sure there's plenty of time to complete the work we know must get done avoids this.
As for #2, we have - and will always have - more things to do than time in which to do them. To be clear, there will never be a time when we can get everything done on any given day, such that there's absolutely nothing that we could do at the point we end our work day. Never.
Accept it and stop thinking about it. Thinking about it will get you "all worked up." It won't be easy for most of us to stop thinking about what's coming, but keep at it and you'll develop the skill. Like any good habit, it takes repetition and persistence.
With all those pending "To-Dos" expelled from your mind, you'll have plenty of time and plenty of free brain power to consider only the time at your disposal.
Reserving brain power results in creating brain space. Into that space we can reserve our Lenten discipline - whatever we have decided to do.
But rather than analyze this any more, the key here is to take these resolutions seriously. Read them every morning without fail with the firm intention of following them to the letter, and keeping at it until things fall into place. Some of us may take more time than others for all this to settle in and make an indelible mark in how we perform our job each day. But the rewards will come - and they're pretty good at that.
I can tell you from experience that it could take a while. Frankly, if you start now it could take much more time that we have left in Lent. But just getting into the habit now will almost certainly assist the sincere effort to keep our Lenten discipline during the work day.
The spillover effect will to establish a calm and steady base from which to perform our duties every day best we can, without, getting all worked up.
After many months, I still read these two resolutions every morning and do my best to stick with the program.
If you see the benefit, try it. Keep at it. Things will almost certainly fall into place.
We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee
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