PORTION SIZE
How big a bite should we take?
No, I’m not talking about my adventures at the table or in the kitchen — those are stories for another day …
How big a bite are you taking out of life — are you getting a good portion, or is your appetite on a restricted diet, satisfied with enough or barely enough to get by?
Set aside the headline grabbers, the showmen, that shaman, the leaders of movements, protests and revolutions — ask the question, what is a big enough portion of life for you?
My appetite isn’t what it was when I was young.
And it isn’t what it was last year, either.
I’ve had periods of hunger, desperation, and fear — and I’ve had periods of jubilation and abundance.
Neither, however, satisfied my appetite at the time. I’m not talking about calories or dollars here; I’m talking about a sense of satisfaction, a sense of value, a sense of pride and accomplishment — but about not being satisfied with a participant ribbon.
We can do the maximum of what our brain and body can accomplish — we can do it alone, we can do it with partners, we can do it as part of a team. It doesn’t matter if there is a ribbon or prize at any finish line. What matters is that I don’t give up on a dream, a task, a client, an initiative — because completion is more satisfying than a juicy steak and a cold drink on a hot day …
What are you biting into and sticking with, committing everything of yourself toward?
If now, why not?
Is it because you aren’t committed to it, you are overcommitted, or are you not sure that what you’ve bitten into is worthy of the effort?
It makes sense to step back, review and assess where our commitment needs to be — and that’s a worthwhile exercise, but we shouldn’t use it as an ongoing excuse for procrastination.
Tom Peters advocates: Ready, Fire, Aim!
I’ve started reading a new book that came well recommended; Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be.
What’s holding you back?
