it's not about time, it's about direction

alister cameron writes about blogging in the eye of the storm, including all the things bloggers need to do and be signed up for and how often to write and how to build readership and so on and so on. in fact, reading the list itself wore me out! it also made me feel very behind the times. as i read it, i realized that very little of what many people deem "successful blogging" has anything to do with why i began blogging in the first place. it's a fun read. but who really has time for all that?

ah! speaking of time, it turns out that as we set our goals and try to manage our time more effectively, we may be looking in the wrong direction. alister's post "if you don't have passion and purpose, greater productivity won't help you" tells us that people who do what they love don't necessarily have to set daily, weekly, or monthly goals. they love what they do, so they do it. alister continues:

concerns about effectiveness and productivity are well and good, but you have to get the bigger questions about passion and purpose answered first. and you need the courage (the “guts”) to create a life out of doing what you love.

i heard someone else once put it this way: discipline is the ability to consistently say “no” to the wrong things. But it takes one big fat compelling “YES!” to make it clear what you must say “no” to, and to give you the discipline to say it consistently.

so often, we start in reverse. someone asks how they can get everything done in a day and we recommend the tools that we use to keep ourselves organized. the first questions are about what you're doing and why, what would you like to be doing, how can you get there. and then it takes guts. money, security, and the familiar can keep us stuck in old patterns for a long time.

what is your passion and purpose?
are you following it?
what leap would you like to take?

all the best!
deb

Comments

[Lisa]

Wonderful post!

[Linda]

Absolutement! (is that French, Deb? I know one of your passions is learning French!).

Great post and RIGHT ON!!! Too many people pursue things that they just think they "should" do. Wait, they don't even "pursue" them - that is too passionate a word. They just "do" them because it is expected or easy. Understanding your passion is not easy, and understanding purpose is even harder. Kudos to those who go down the road less traveled.

Like you!

[deb]

mais oui! absolutement is a french word!

and thanks for the kind words and encouragement, but there is still much work to be done in this area for me. nice to know people who have been down that less-traveled road who can help guide me on my way. like you!

all the best!
deb