There is an old zen proverb that says:

A martial arts student approached his teacher with a question. “I’d like to improve my knowledge of the martial arts. In addition to learning from you, I’d like to study with another teacher in order to learn another style. What do you think of this idea?”

“The hunter who chases two rabbits,” answered the master, “catches neither one.”

This is an apt proverb and one that reminds me of something I tend to do as I get into a subject or hobby or path of learning… I learn myself into oblivion.

There are always many different approaches and schools of thought within the field of any discipline that you want to learn. You find a range of experts, a vast array of opinions, and a huge number of contradictory books on how and why you should do things a certain way. You have probably noticed this.

The more you learn about something the more confused you get.

But in the confusion and the realisation that most of us are making things up as we go along we come to a simple truth: we just need to say yes and commit to something. You can’t do everything but you can do something, and if you try to do everything you will end up doing nothing.

If we don’t allow ourselves to commit to focussing on specific areas then we will be constantly running around trying to catch two rabbits at the same time, and inevitably catching neither.

When I’m not committed to one pursuit at a time then everything I do seems to have an unproductive luke-warmness. I bounce myself around like a pinball between projects. This is highly frustrating because it often prevents the hard work breakthroughs from happening.

But how do we commit? That’s what I wanted to explore in this episode by considering 5 key principles that can help us embrace the seasonal nature of life, so we can become more focussed and thus effective in our work, lives, and creativity.

1. Find the Choice

2. Find the Lesson

3. Find Perfection in Imperfection

4. Find the Finish Line

5. Find the Why

Photo Credit woodleywonderworks via Compfight

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