Inspiration of the Self-Reliance 30-Day Writing Challenge

To celebrate Ralph Waldo Emerson's 208th birthday (May 25th, 1803), Self-Reliance urges us to trust our intuition rather than conforming to the will of the majority.

Beginning on May 31st, 2011, The Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Reliance website*** will post a daily prompt. This will continue for 30 days.

This is my unique creation of personal reflection and responses, based on those prompts.

***See link below for the site.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Enthusiasm

DAY 22

Prompt:
How can you bring MORE enthusiasm into your work?
What do you have to think or believe about your work to be totally excited about it?
Answer it now.





At the risk of sounding repetitious, I will answer this by discussing mindfulness ---- focusing on each NOW present moment, as it is happening.


By being fully present in the NOW, reaping the rewards of enthusiasm is destined to materialize.


Here’s just one example from last week: 
 I made a big pot of homemade spaghetti sauce.  With each onion, bell pepper and garlic clove I cut and chopped, I was entirely immersed in the process, feeling each ingredient.  Never before did I notice such wonderful scents.  Periodically I’d stir the sauce as it cooked, and I actually felt the movement.  Then I cut up French bread into pieces, added melted butter, garlic and parmesan cheese, all the while savoring each intimacy with each ingredient.  The aroma filled the kitchen as the croutons baked.  And, finally, as I washed the dishes and cleaned the stove, I became absorbed in everything I was doing, as I did it.  The warm soapy water pampered and soothed my tired hands.  This is one of the benefits of mindfully being present in each NOW moment.  I highly recommend it.  If it can make kitchen chores pleasurable, just imagine how gratifying other results will be!


In addition to being immersed in each NOW present moment, maintaining balance in life is another essential ingredient to help bring MORE enthusiasm into our work, and into our life. 






For me, enthusiasm is:   a result of living mindfully in each NOW moment, while maintaining balance.  This combination also aids in preventing stagnation.  Stepping too far away from the present may zap our energy, taking enthusiasm with it.  This also causes imbalance.  The farther we move away from this one NOW moment, we provide the risk of losing our balance.






So, to answer the first question in the prompt, I try to remain mindful and fully present in each moment, focusing on exactly whatever I’m doing, to bring MORE enthusiasm into my work.





And, to answer the question, What do you have to think or believe about your work to be totally excited about it? ~~~


Thoughts become things.  (Choose them wisely.)

  



Therefore to maintain enthusiasm about our work, it would be beneficial to fill our minds with thoughts of excitement.  By doing so, our minds will be stimulated, providing us with inspiration to motivate us to excel in our work.  Approaching our work with positive energy in our brains helps to support an optimistic and harmonious relationship with our work. 

And, by keeping within the confines of each NOW moment, it lightens the weight of the load.  This load is the baggage that comes along with stepping beyond the boundaries of the present, bringing worries of the future and anxiety over the past.



“You can't change the past,
but you can ruin the present
by worrying about the future.”










No comments:

Post a Comment