Start Small and Work the Process by Chase Butler
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=227580&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Chase Butler
If you've ever tried to build a fire by simply lighting logs, it didn't take you long to realize it just doesn't work. Aside from throwing gasoline on it, it has to start small—kindling, twigs, sticks—then build. It's easy to get frustrated, especially if the fire is the one thing promising you heat in the near future. We often ignore the process under pressure. We want quick fixes. Instant heat. Roaring flames from nothing. Once the foundation is built, a raging fire will consume just about anything, even wood that's wet. It's a lot easier to maintain than to build, too. We know that's true in most areas of life.
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If you've ever tried to build a fire by simply lighting logs, it didn't take you long to realize it just doesn't work. Aside from throwing gasoline on it, it has to start small—kindling, twigs, sticks—then build.
It's easy to get frustrated, especially if the fire is the one thing promising you heat in the near future. We often ignore the process under pressure. We want quick fixes. Instant heat. Roaring flames from nothing.
Once the foundation is built, a raging fire will consume just about anything, even wood that's wet. It's a lot easier to maintain than to build, too. We know that's true in most areas of life.
Inevitably, at some point, whether starting for the first time or starting over for the hundredth time, we are forced back to the essentials, the process—kindling, twigs, sticks.
I can think back to times in my life when I felt I could throw anything into the flame and it would be consumed, serving my purposes of getting that fire hotter and bigger. Nothing could stand in my way.
I've also found myself staring at coals, blowing with all the breath in my lungs, hoping and praying for it to reignite, wondering what I did to let it dwindle.
We go through these cycles, finding ourselves in front of what seems to be an inextinguishable bonfire, then just the slightest glow of embers. Whether it's from discipline fading or the unexpected circumstance raining on you, the process to get back is the same.
In business, in our mental health, in our physical health, in every area of our life, we pay our dues to keep the fire going. Prospecting and great service, healthy habits—we often know what it takes. But sometimes it's too cold and the fire too low to remember how or to have the motivation.
So if today you find yourself on the dwindling side of the spectrum I'm describing, what's the one thing, the one bit of kindling, when you stop and honestly look inward, you know you need?
It won't be immediate, but I don't doubt you'll be taking a step back from the satisfying heat quicker than you ever thought possible if you just start small and work the process.
Chase Butler
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=234074&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
There seems to be a recurring topic that continues to come up in my life—the balance between contentment and goals. Do I appreciate what I have, and am I working towards something meaningful that forces me to grow? An either/or approach never works. On one hand, you lend yourself to apathy and stagnation. On the other, you live under the tyranny of nothing ever being enough, endless striving that costs you something you never intended. I don't pretend to have this figured out. Every once in a while, I sense the alignment between the two within myself, but it's normally a fleeting moment followed by the pendulum tipping back towards one side.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=233123&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
There are moments when I long for an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, or hope and receive nothing. Even in earnest seeking, eager anticipation, a proper posture, an open heart, a willing spirit—nothing. Then there are moments when I receive an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, and hope when I least expect it. Not seeking, not anticipating, yet a glimpse is given. So what to conclude?
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=231499&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
If the idea of selling everything and living out of a backpack on the road sounds like a nightmare instead of a grand adventure, this post might not be for you. If challenging the status quo and questioning societal norms in the pursuit of a full and satisfying life sounds intriguing, then let's continue. The beauty of friendship is that conversations tend to draw out aspects of yourself that otherwise would have been left untouched and dormant, or at the very least overlooked or ignored.
