I’ve been running my Boots That Fit course for the past few weeks. Everyone seems to be enjoying it. I’m really enjoying it! I’m so excited at the end of every Thursday night that I’m having trouble getting to sleep. Which is probably a good thing.
The only thing that people seem not to love is the homework. But of course I’m going to give homework. I want my participants to think about the course during the week and not just on Thursdays. But there is a problem with the homework that I didn’t anticipate. I had blinkers on. I just didn’t see this thing coming.
The problem is, much of my homework consists of writing. ‘Write a story’, ‘write a paragraph’, ‘write a letter’.
I am a writer, so when I want to think deeply about a subject, I write about it.
I didn’t necessarily want the participants to write. I definitely don’t have time to read what they write or to mark it. That’s not what the homework was about. I wanted these lovely people to think deeply about the subject. Writing was just the method of choice for me.
There are many other possible methods for people to use when they think deeply about something. Here are just a few:
- Draw a picture
- Create a dream board or a mood board
- Compose a song
- Record a video
- Draw out a mind map
- Make a collage
There are many different methods for reaching the one goal.
The same is true for our lives. We may have a goal that we’re reaching for, and we may be using Method A to get there. If Method A doesn’t work for us, it is tempting to give up on the goal completely and tell ourselves, ‘It just won’t work for me.’ But if we can think creatively I’m sure that we can find Method B, Method C, and Method whatever, all the way to the end of the alphabet and beyond. There are many ways to get to the same goal.
We just need to be a bit curious, a bit creative.
For example, if we want to write lists to organise our days we might try pen on paper. But if you find you’re always losing the list, then you could try using an app on your phone, or a whiteboard on the fridge. If the list itself is the problem, feeling too stark and linear, you might like to try a mind map. Or you might colour in one segment of a colouring in page until you’ve completed the whole picture and feel totally satisfied by all you’ve accomplished.
If my 10-minute-a-day method doesn’t work for you for cleaning your house, you could try assigning a specific job to a specific day: Mondays are washing, Tuesdays are for groceries and meal planning, Wednesdays are for bathrooms, etc. Or you might put everything off until one special day of the week where you make the house, the laundry and everything into one big project to be worked at and finished off until that day turns up again next week. What works best for you?
If you don’t enjoy the gym, do you enjoy riding a bike? Swimming? Dancing? Does it work best to exercise with friends or alone with a podcast? Is there a Zoom class you can attend from the comfort of your lounge room? Or is it better just to walk to work and home again each day?
These methods don’t change the original goal (organising your day, cleaning your house, getting in some exercise) but they may completely change your attitude to achieving the goal. And if one method only works for a few weeks, then you can change to a new method and try that one for a while.
Think of your goal and then think creatively of different ways to achieve it. Then be curious. How did you feel about that way you just tried? Did it work for you? What could you change to make it easier?
Let’s apply some curiosity and creativity to our goals and see just how far we can fly.
Do you have an alternative to the norm for a way that you fulfil a goal? Let me know about it. Write to me and let me know at ruth@ruthamos.com.au or tweet me @aquietlifeblog or find me at Ruth Amos Author on Facebook.
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A Quiet Life 