The wheels were spinning, but I wasn’t going anywhere. The old steam engine let out occasional puffs of smoke, and the wheels barely moved with arthritic slowness.

The tracks stretched off into the distance- way in the distance.

Devitalized!  It’s one hell of a predicament!  Have you ever had one of those phases or times in your life when you have all these great ideas and intentions and they’re floating around but you can’t seem to grab hold of a single one?

Well- that’s where I’d been for a long time. Shot-gun approach. Energy all dissipated- like dust in the wind.  Nothing seemed to coalesce: like a million winged ideas fluttering about but never landing.  There was a potential party, destination unknown, and everyone was driving around trying to find it.

Like a whirligig spinning in the wind.

Running hell-bent for election, but only in circles.  There was something exciting to see out there, but I couldn’t focus the binoculars.

Enough already! You get the idea.  And yes, I know.  I’m mixing metaphors.

OUT OF THE  DARK PIT

What to do? I decided I was running amok left to my own devices, and began surfing the web to see who out there had some ideas for direction.  Came up with a few ideas to stoke the old engine and get those wheels moving forward, so thought I would share them with you if you should ever find yourself similarly stuck.

Being directionless resulted in my mornings being shot.  Crawled out of bed whenever I felt like it.

Then a little reading here, checking my e-mail, a lot of thinking but darn little action- all that prime morning time WASTED!  And doing nothing tired me out, which necessitated an afternoon nap.

Evening found me hunkered down in front of the computer.  I knew this lousy routine needed rectifying.  I was sluggish all day.

MORNING HAS BROKEN

To the rescue, a site called Asian Efficiency that recommended morning rituals. They give six basics and then each person modifies the list to suit one’s own needs. The first 3 were taking care of physical needs.

Then they suggested breathing/meditation/prayer/priming to get the day started, followed by a review of your goals and what you plan to do for the day.  Finally, start your most important task for that day.

I got right to work and created my own rituals, all written down on a check-list, starting with a good-morning prayer/mantra I wrote.  I’ve been following the plan faithfully…and the wheels are finally turning!

Another of their ideas was to “eat the frog” first thing. In other words, bite the bullet and tackle that onerous thing you’ve avoided doing for way too long.  I got inspired and bought a little ceramic frog which I now sit on top of that cursed to-do thing at night so it blatantly confronts me each morning. 

For me, IT WORKS!

They had some great ideas. Check them out at www.asianefficiency.com

WHO AM I?

Next, I figured I needed to discover what  my strengths were so I could capitalize on them. Voila!  I discovered the Kolbe A Index which you can take for about $50.00 on line, and get extensive results.  A questioning process measures your conative or instinctive way of doing things in four action modes.

It measures how you gather and share information, how you follow through and organize, how you deal with risks and uncertainty, and your best way to deal with space and tangibles.  As explained, ‘It gives you greater understanding of your own human nature and allows you to begin the process of maximizing your potential both personally and professionally.”

For me, it affirmed some things I already knew, but also I discovered other aspects that I can now consciously use. Interested? Go to www.kolbe.com/assessments/kolbe-a-index

So far, so good. Now, what to do about my tendency to flood the field with so many ideas that action gets stymied in the maze. Somebody please tell me how to FOCUS!

THE A-B-CS  OF SYSTEM THINKING

Along came Sam Carpenter on-line. I downloaded his book, Work the System for free at www.workthesystem,com   Basically for business owners, his system can also be applied to one’s own life.

He gives very specific input on how one can break down each task or job into 1-2-3-4… or first this, then that.  Of course this sounds like common sense but I was hopping around outside the box!  I’m trying it out and am making headway!   It helped rein in my multiple ideas and  free-flying mind that was roaming the cosmos!

WRITE UP!

About those fluttering ideas and winged thoughts- here this moment sometimes gone the next. It seemed such a waste!

And then I recalled a workshop with Julia Cameron where she talked at length about morning pages.  Basically, her tool for creative awakening is to write down every morning in longhand three pages of stream of consciousness thoughts. (Her book is The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity in which she discusses morning pages).

But…being someone who doesn’t usually follow the recipe- ever-  I bought a large bound empty page journal where I can record all those thoughts, as well as any poem/prayer/meditation/quote/dream  that “speaks” to me at the moment.

Surprise, surprise! Free-form is the way to go for me!

For those who might want some structure I’ve heard nothing but high praise for the book Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest by Christina Baldwin which includes quotations, exercises and techniques.