49 days to go...

Today I focused intensely on eating my largest frog.

The frog is an article I am writing as part of my research on leadership in water governance. I made good progress today, because I pushed everything else off my table - I did not allow any other priority on my list.

And it worked. My mind was totally focused. I even had to drag myself away from my table to eat lunch and play saxophone for a while to give myself a break.

What then, I wondered this evening, if I applied such intensity to mapping my success journey? To identify where I would like to go most of all? To identify my passion…

Hmm, I have a few passions, not just one. Ok, let’s be generous to myself and let me keep more than one passion. So what would be my hottest passion?

I thought about it, and played around with words and sentences on my screen. And I found that what was at the top of my list was to help people move forward with their life.

Is that really for me? I haven’t done much of that yet. Looking at my blog posts, they have been full of introspection, of nurturing my inner world, focusing on my first arena of success, to be true to myself.

Then I realized that I really needed to help myself before I could hope to help anyone else. It’s like the oxygen bag instruction in the airplane. Help yourself, then the others. Let your own cup overflow first.

When I was growing up, there was a heavy focus on Jesus Christ’s teaching to love your neighbor as yourself. It became like second nature to think that way. Except that everyone’s attention was somehow only on the first part.

Years later, I realized that I missed the essence of what Jesus had said. He meant that you have to learn to love yourself first! Then I noticed that many people have a problem loving themselves, including me.

But on New Year’s day, I gave myself good marks for success in my inner arena. Now I can move on with confidence to my arena of growing to develop my potential. I will figure out more about my journey to realize my top passion. What it takes to do it well.

Oh yes, and I will also follow my muse for the other three passions on my list: to develop into a good water governance adviser, writer, and musician.

Eating a frog will now be part of my daily menu.

Photographs: (top) Eat that Frog, by Brian Tracy – 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time; (center) eating my frog; (bottom) my espresso art.