Producing a Product

I’ve found that, sometimes in life, it’s necessary to emphasize the continuity of my endeavors, especially during periods when it seems difficult just to go through the motions. Well, going through the motions is at least something, and sometimes the best work is accomplished when all I’m trying to do is just “produce a product”. Some of my best papers in college were written hastily, with the thought of just getting them turned in and through with. Later, when I got them back with “A”s and complimentary teacher remarks on them, I’d read them again and wonder how I was able to write quality work like that! The best mile run I did, 5:25, occurred one morning when I felt physically weak and queasy. I decided to run just doing the best I could to finish without going too slow. And ended up surprising myself and some others! When I was originally hired at my current place of employment, it was necessary to undergo difficult training that required much memory, hand-eye coordination, and manual dexterity. From day to day, it seemed like little progress was being made, but I was assiduous in my efforts and made dramatic progress over a span of weeks, easily passing the required training.

Much of what we aspire to in life is the culmination of long stretches of time within which we train, practice, study, strive, or whatever else you’d like to call it. At any given time, progress seems to come at a snail’s pace or even not at all. But even over relatively short spans like a couple of months, improvement can seem sudden, and at times almost miraculous. But this involves punching through the all-too-many times when there seems to be little motivation, time, priority, or energy to keep up with things. But if stuck to, I believe almost anything is possible!

Nowadays, I’m engaged in a number of self-improvement projects, apart from my family and home. One is writing a daily substantive entry in this blog, not necessarily the easiest thing to do as some of you may already know from experience. I’m taking piano lessons for the first time, faithfully practicing each day, but feeling totally clumsy each time (although I know I’m improving daily). I’ve also started to run again. It would be easy for me to compare myself unfavorably with all of the younger, more talented, and more experienced runners out there, especially those I read about in the blogosphere, but I’m fifty years old and have to make my progress one step at a time and in a prudent manner that gradually increases my load. Just since May 14, when I started, I’ve made a lot of progress. But that has only come because I forced myself to run on days that I really didn’t feel like making the effort. There are some other areas in my life that it would be cool to get better at, and perhaps in the future, if I get started on these, I’ll share them with you as well. For my self-improvement guru-friend Anthony Robbins has said that making a public commitment to accomplish something is a very helpful step toward that end in itself. And I add to that, “Just produce a product!”