THE OMER INTERSECTION: Bonding of Endurance - Nitzach + Yesod
Usually, when we think of bonding, we think of our personal connections with other people. The time we spend together, the memories we create, the feelings we foster that become our lasting impressions when we think of other people. When we are talking about endurance towards some of our goals, the value of yesod, bonding, teaches us that in order to stick to a new plan of action - a new, healthy habit formation - we need to bond with our task-at-hand. It is one thing to say that I want to work out more often. But it is another thing altogether to actually spend some time with the idea - imagining ways to accomplish the task (different ways to get-in physical activity: gym time, running, playing sports with friends, etc), sitting down with one's calendar and actually finding time to plug-in dedicated moments to spend with the task (blocking-out morning or evening or even midday hours in the calendar for workout times), and finding allies to help us in the endeavor (finding a workout buddy, making public statements to others about the times we plan to spend exercising, making us feel accountable not only to ourselves, but to others, as well). Today, we are called upon to bond with our big goals, so that we can find a path of endurance to lead us there.
THE OMER CHALLENGE:We've been identifying various goals all week to sit with and find ways to endure towards. Whether it's an old, on-going goal or a new one that we're picking, let us spend some time today bonding with one.
1) Spend some time plotting some "low-hanging-fruit" - some easily achievable, no-brainer tasks that get take a few steps towards our goal, so that we get a bit of an experience with which to bond with our goals.
2) Calendar-in these "low-hanging fruits," and put time into the calendar for the next three weeks out.
3) Tell your ally that we identified earlier in the week. If you skipped that step, then pick an ally in the endeavor, and recruit their help now. It will not only bond you to the task, but will help bond you to the person you choose to share this journey with, as well.
OMER REFLECTION:
It's nice to be reflecting on these values again. And though I may not be as timely with the posts as I'd like to be, I think I'm gaining all sorts of appreciation for taking conscious steps to ensure my own endurance. One lesson learned is that sometimes it is okay to let go of perfection in order to endure with the plan. I would not call myself a perfectionist, but I do take pride in having a certain level of quality in what I do. While I see this as a strength of mine, I have found that it can also be a convenient excuse for not enduring when I allow my definition of 'quality' to be too strict. Using the blogging as an example, I was trying to get each post out in the evening, which proved to be too burdensome for my schedule on some days. If I started to fall behind, rather than write a little late, I was put-off by the burden of it not being "on schedule." But forcing myself to write, regardless of the timing, and get back on track with the counting has helped me to continue to use this time as a time of growth, which was the primary intent. It's also inspired me to follow through with some real social justice work that I might otherwise have shied away from, but more on that in the coming days. . . .
I'd have written this all in the "we," but I didn't want to put words in anyone else's mouth if you have different experiences of this lesson. But any thoughts you have with a different perspective or a similar one would be welcomed!
Usually, when we think of bonding, we think of our personal connections with other people. The time we spend together, the memories we create, the feelings we foster that become our lasting impressions when we think of other people. When we are talking about endurance towards some of our goals, the value of yesod, bonding, teaches us that in order to stick to a new plan of action - a new, healthy habit formation - we need to bond with our task-at-hand. It is one thing to say that I want to work out more often. But it is another thing altogether to actually spend some time with the idea - imagining ways to accomplish the task (different ways to get-in physical activity: gym time, running, playing sports with friends, etc), sitting down with one's calendar and actually finding time to plug-in dedicated moments to spend with the task (blocking-out morning or evening or even midday hours in the calendar for workout times), and finding allies to help us in the endeavor (finding a workout buddy, making public statements to others about the times we plan to spend exercising, making us feel accountable not only to ourselves, but to others, as well). Today, we are called upon to bond with our big goals, so that we can find a path of endurance to lead us there.
THE OMER CHALLENGE:We've been identifying various goals all week to sit with and find ways to endure towards. Whether it's an old, on-going goal or a new one that we're picking, let us spend some time today bonding with one.
1) Spend some time plotting some "low-hanging-fruit" - some easily achievable, no-brainer tasks that get take a few steps towards our goal, so that we get a bit of an experience with which to bond with our goals.
2) Calendar-in these "low-hanging fruits," and put time into the calendar for the next three weeks out.
3) Tell your ally that we identified earlier in the week. If you skipped that step, then pick an ally in the endeavor, and recruit their help now. It will not only bond you to the task, but will help bond you to the person you choose to share this journey with, as well.
OMER REFLECTION:
It's nice to be reflecting on these values again. And though I may not be as timely with the posts as I'd like to be, I think I'm gaining all sorts of appreciation for taking conscious steps to ensure my own endurance. One lesson learned is that sometimes it is okay to let go of perfection in order to endure with the plan. I would not call myself a perfectionist, but I do take pride in having a certain level of quality in what I do. While I see this as a strength of mine, I have found that it can also be a convenient excuse for not enduring when I allow my definition of 'quality' to be too strict. Using the blogging as an example, I was trying to get each post out in the evening, which proved to be too burdensome for my schedule on some days. If I started to fall behind, rather than write a little late, I was put-off by the burden of it not being "on schedule." But forcing myself to write, regardless of the timing, and get back on track with the counting has helped me to continue to use this time as a time of growth, which was the primary intent. It's also inspired me to follow through with some real social justice work that I might otherwise have shied away from, but more on that in the coming days. . . .
I'd have written this all in the "we," but I didn't want to put words in anyone else's mouth if you have different experiences of this lesson. But any thoughts you have with a different perspective or a similar one would be welcomed!
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