Today’s Mandala Message: What’s It Going to Take?
This week I’m working through Principle #16 from Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles” entitled “Be Willing to Pay the Price”. I set my intention today to ponder the idea of paying the price. Canfield states: “…you can become world class in whatever you do by putting in the disciplined effort to excel at your chose trade, craft, or profession. To win at whatever game you choose to play, you need to be willing to pay the price.”
“Pay the price” can seem a bit harsh, and yet I know in order to excel or even just be good enough to at something requires time and effort. Last year, for the first time in decades, I felt the calling to start playing my piano again. (long story as to why I stopped) I had read or heard someplace, that by just putting in 15-20 minutes every day (every day is the key), I would definitely make progress. I can now play four 1-3 minute classical pieces (memorized!), which may since trivial and yet to me…that’s amazing!
Late February I set the goal to learn “Claire de Lune” by the end of March. It was an ambitious goal and yet I’m amazed by how much progress I’ve made in 30+ days. And even though I still have a ways to go before I can play it up-to-tempo, I’m so much further along than I would have been had I stopped because it was pushing me out of my comfort zone. And because I’m in control of my goals, I adjusted my goal deadline for this piece to April 30, 2023. Should I still need some more time on it, I’m okay with it because I know that as long as I continue to practice every day for 20 minutes, I will be even that much further along than I am now.
I’ve since learned that the idea of practicing anything on a regular basis for 100 hours is called the 100 Hour Rule. Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy describes it as “For most disciplines, it only takes one hundred hours of active learning to become much more competent than an absolute beginner.” FYI: 100 hours works out to 34 days at 3 hours a day, 100 days at 1 hour a day, or 200 days at 30 minutes a day. Since speed was not an issue for me I chose to work it out over a year, which works out to about 17 minutes a day. That to me was more doable, practical, and less overwhelming than 1-3 hrs a day.
So how about you? To achieve your goal(s), are you willing to do what it takes? What discipline on your part does it require? Can you give it 17-20 minutes of your time per day?
“If you want to move
— T. Harv Eker
to a new level in your life,
you must break through
your comfort zone
and practice doing things
that are not comfortable.”
Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
All Things Mandalas
An Invitation
I invite you to color along with me this year as part of what I’m calling “The Year of Self-Exploration and Expansion” with all of my “Mandalas of the ___” (day, week, month, year). If you’re interested in more of a self-exploration approach to coloring, check out my “Coloring Mandalas as Meditation”. You can download this mandala at MandalaoftheWeek.com.
Mandala of the Day 