What temperature is your Porridge?

There is a lot of thoughts and concepts rattling around in my head today, but I will try my darnedest to articulate most of it in an organized fashion, however I make no guarantees.  My apologies in advance if this post jumps all over the place.

I have been thinking a lot about my goals for this year and the best approach to accomplish as much as I can in the most sustainable way possible.  With the prospect of a black belt grading on the horizon and the associated commitment to mastery in all aspects of my life, it is very easy to get overwhelmed and shut down.  The expenditure of energy without focus or direction is the epitome of spinning your wheels, tons of effort but no forward movement.  One thing I learned very quickly today as several of us worked on our baseline for our kicks, optimum performance requires the efficient use of energy.

Although too much stress and/or pressure can lead to burnout or breakdown, too little promotes stagnation and mediocrity. We all need to find that proverbial porridge at just the right temperature, not too hot and not too cold.  Keeping just the right amount of stress and/or pressure is the key to reaching and maintaining optimal performance and growth.

For those of you who like pictures and graphs...you're welcome.

So now that I spelled that out and demonstrated it with a flashy and colourful diagram,  easy-peazy right?  Well I suppose that depends.  For me, and many others I suspect, a grading year, combined with every day life and work/school can be overwhelming and stressful as a whole.  One of the keys to maintaining the appropriate stress levels is to not look at the year as a whole, break it down into bite size chunks. Focus on the manageable daily goals that stem from the weekly goals, that stem from the monthly goals, that yes, stem from the yearly goals. 

Take consistent action each day, but start every day, week and month anew.  Let your previous successes propel you forward, however, do not let the struggles of one day deter you from starting anew the next.

Well, I don't think that was everything bouncing around my head, but I think I'm gonna quite while I'm ahead.

I hope this is of benefit to some of you reading.  I know it helps me to spell and/or draw concepts out.

Thanks for reading.

Mike