Your Turn: How to Keep your Vision or Commitment Alive When You are Forgetful
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It’s Your Turn Now — To keep your vision and commitment alive. To keep the fire burning. To keep the inspiration flowing. Let’s start.
Let me give a little background. As this could be the first time you are reading something like this.
Your Turn (YT) is the exploration section of my articles — the pragmatic part for you to Explore Investigate Experience Internalize & Observe. E-I-E-I-O. Like the old nursery rhyme.
So, be like a child here.
As you will find again and again, meditation is the main theme of my articles. And it is also the main tool here in Your Turn.
Why?
Because meditation is simple. And it is the only investigative tool that doesn’t need any external help. It doesn’t need any context. Yet it lets you go deep into any context. And it brings out the best for you from inside. Like an inspiration, it is personal. It is a powerhouse. (Next to meditation is breath. And I will come to that later.)
When you experiment with activities and reflections in Your Turn, don’t be serious. Just be curious.
There are already so many things in life to be serious about. You don’t want another monkey on your back. So, just be curious here. That’s it. Let the wonderment of life drive you for next 10 minutes or so. Remember E-I-E-I-O. You don’t have to remember its full form. It is just an expression of child like curiosity and fun. The spirit matters. It is a mnemonic for the spirit.
To get the context of this Your Turn — first read my recent article. That way you will find this activity more meaningful.
“How to Keep Your Vision or Commitment Alive When You Keep Forgetting About It”. And then come back here.
It is a 4 minute read.
Here is the link again.
Go now. Read it.
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Are you back? Have you read it?
Let’s get started then.
Props
You will need a computer or a diary for this one. Once you have it ready, start.
PS: Not every YT will need a prop.
So, here is Your Turn.
Write
Start writing down your vision or some nice work you’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but you kept forgetting.
Your vision can be big or small for the world. Doesn’t matter. What matters is how you feel about it. How relevant is it for you?
So how do you feel about this vision of yours? Write that feeling.
What will this work or this vision make you feel when it gets accomplished? What will the process of fulfilling the vision make you feel?
Don’t worry if you can’t put any numbers around it. Just write the feeling.
Will you feel fulfilled? Dig deeper. What exactly will make you feel fulfilled? Why will it do so?
Investigate.
Go ahead. Do it. Scribble something.
Here is an example.
Don’t restrict yourself. If fears come up, write them down. If you get some clarity, write it down. Don’t judge yourself. Just clear your heart. You want to curse someone, do it. Clear your heart.
Do it for 2 minutes, 3minutes or 5minutes. You don’t even have to write a lot. Just focus on your feelings. And the commitment or vision.
Write in the diary.
Or type it in your laptop. Make a folder MyPragmaticSeeking. In that create a document MyVision or IWantTo<YourActivity> like, IWantToMeditate or IWantToBuildARobot or IWantToHelpPeople. Just type in it. So easy.
Let it flow. Take your time.
When finished, just let it settle.
When you feel like, turn to the next one.
Breathe
How did the writing activity go? Did it help you visualize and feel your vision or commitment better?
Here is the second activity now.
Breathe. For next 3 minutes just take deep breaths. Relax your body. And just breathe.
Your breath has changed from the last activity. Maybe you feel lighter or heavier after writing.
No judgements. Just breathe in and out. Long breaths.
Do it now. Don’t leave in between. Set a timer if you must.
Take your Time.
Once you are done, swiftly move on to the next turn.
Meditate
How does it feel after good long breaths? Observe a little. Be in that feeling.
Now you can meditate. Make sure you have some time at hand to meditate. At least 5 minutes.
There are a lot of good resources to meditate.
PS: I will keep sharing resources in YT.
For now you can start with Headspace app or Headspace website. https://www.headspace.com/ (In subsequent articles I will share more resources).
Create your account. It is simple (that’s something I like about HeadSpace. You can use your Google or Facebook account to get started.)
Go to the meditation tab and get started with Basics. Play the basic meditation. It runs for 3 minutes. Here is screenshot from my phone, if it helps.
Do it now!
Relax.
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Done? How was it? Take a couple of deep breaths and turn to the next one when you are ready.
Call the Coach
How was the meditation? You are just getting started. The idea is to meditate every day. Don’t stress it. You can follow me on Medium to stay inspired. If you are already meditating daily, great. Stay connected.
Anyways, let’s get on to the last activity.
This is about sharing your vision with someone you trust.
This one is not really that necessary to do. Because it needs the right person. May be there is no one right now in your life, with whom you can share your vision. Never mind. You don’t have to do this activity right away. Your writing and meditation are good enough guides / mementos. For example, for a long time I did not have anyone to share my vision with. And it was ok. I believed in my meditation.
But if you do have someone like that, whom you can deeply trust, schedule an appointment with them now. Or, just call them up.
Remember you have to be sure that this person wants you to succeed in life in an understanding way. They are the ones whose words inspire you. Fill you with energy & inspiration. Make sure they are the right person.
Make an appointment now. Or, mark it in your calendar when you are going to talk to them. In the meantime fill you diary as much as possible. And meditate.
This was Your Turn #1.
How was it? Were you able to do some or all of the activities?
Share you experience in comments.
I will be back with more.
E-I-E-I-O …
