Sitting
down to my weekly calendar this morning, I had a very odd moment. Every
single item on my schedule sounded either easy or fun (or both), and my
immediate gut reaction was an intensely negative response. Exploring
that feeling, I realized it was something along the lines of: “If you
don’t work harder than this, you’ll never achieve your vision.” Talk
about old programming! When exactly did we decide that we aren’t being
productive unless we’re bored or struggling (or both)?
The irony is that I’m creating my own dreams at work every day. Our dreams, by definition, fill us with enthusiasm. So it only makes sense that I would find my work easy and fun, not dull and dreary. It made me realize that one of the greatest hurdles we can face in manifesting our dreams is the programming that says, “If you’re having too much fun, or if it seems too easy, then you’re not getting anywhere.”
The danger of that programming is that it can lead us to try, often unconsciously, to make our work feel more onerous. And as if that weren’t enough of a problem in itself, chances are good that onerous tasks—especially the ones we invent for ourselves—are not directly in line with our visions. So trying to make ourselves more productive can, paradoxically, lead us to be less so.
Let’s say, for example, that I’m working on manifesting a particular dream, and I decide that I need to focus on some marketing strategies. I happen to enjoy networking through attending lectures and discussion groups, through participating in the blogging community, through responding to e-mail I receive through my own blog, and through any other method of engaging in open dialog. I do not at all enjoy the practice of “cold calling”: offering services to people who have not indicated any interest in them.
I don’t enjoy it, so I don’t do it. But what if I felt compelled to take the onerous road, out of a misguided belief that hard work is more productive? Chances are good that I would start out by wasting a lot of time dragging my feet. I’d find a million reasons why I wasn’t yet ready do it: I don’t know what businesses I should contact; I don’t know how to introduce myself; I don’t know which aspects of my practice I should emphasize; I don’t know how to start the conversation… I could spend a couple of stressful weeks trying to answer these questions and doing some cold calling in a half-hearted way, or I could spend those same two weeks doing the kind of networking I like to do, with far greater results.
Notice, by the way, that my preferred method of networking is a lot like targeted cold calling anyway: I talk with a lot of new people every week about their own ideas and dreams, and if I happen to see a strategic fit between those dreams and my own expertise, I offer my help. I think we often fail to see how what we like doing is just a variation on what we don’t like doing, and since we like it, it’s a variation that suits us better and will be more productive for us.
One word of caution before I sign off: I’m not suggesting that everything you dislike doing is unproductive. I’m not in love with paying bills, but I do it in order to keep my business running! If I see a clear and definite need to accomplish a certain task, I’ll do it whether I like it or not. The trick is to reprogram our minds so that we stop creating unpleasant tasks for ourselves just so we can feel like we're working harder.
So the next time you’re faced with a series of easy and fun tasks in manifesting your dreams, if you hear that inner voice of protest, ignore it. While onerous work gets us dragging our feet and leaves us feeling drained, easy and fun work maximizes our productivity and leaves us raring to go. The more fun you’re having, the more you’ll get done. So put on your party hat (or your Halloween costume) and get to work!
