Wise

...EFFORT!

It's definitely been hardwork for us all during these times. No-one has escaped mentally & emotionally. Some will have found it physically hard too. 

I believe it can sometimes be a misconception to believe the harder we work the more we get out. Although there are millions of quotes an examples that say otherwise.

Can you recognise who that is in the picture? To help me pay off a student loan many many years ago an opportunity came may way to do some hair shows with Vidal Sassoon in Manchester. Oh it was a lot of fun & hard work! The quote on their wall always stuck in my mind!

 I do believe through my own experiences that there is indeed 'no pleasing some people' & if you are one of the many people pleasers this can be a hard to take on board!

So that's where of out all the people you are pleasing the most important one must most definitely be YOU! To do that you need to unlock what effort really means because when you do you will realise it really isn't just a means...but a source of understanding yourself too.

We might be people who are strivers - constantly setting goals, levels & rating ourselves, pilling on the pressure. Or people who are habitual where the effort can be slower & less engaged. Or a real warrior where everything is made into an obstacle to get over & win.

Maybe all of these could be termed as unskilled effort, maybe we all fit into more than one. 

If so what is skilled effort? Maybe that is knowing when & where you can balance between getting the joy out of what you are doing / trying - through pushing enough but having the openess to receive what comes?

I like the term WISE EFFORT. It is one of the Buddhist 8 fold paths & is the 6th step. If you are interested in that side. That all aside I like the terminology it implies...asking ourselves to have a vision rather than a fixed goal, to explore where our efforts lie & whether they are in fact wise in terms of our perceived outcomes.

If you like think of it in terms of taking a Yoga Class. You probably will have many reasons you have chosen to take the class, time to yourself, relaxation, increased flexibility etc etc.

If you are one that puts pressure on yourself in terms of effort...you may have set yourself goals like x number down dogs or must try to not think of anything during meditation for at least 5 mins...your efforts all arranged but were they wise? Did you concentrate so hard on them that you came away not pleasing yourself or did that result in a class lacking in joy as a result. Like wise the reverse can be true maybe you will just see what happens put little effort in you do it everyday you know the score...did you get joy out of that lack of effort?

Suzanne Richardson  - Coward

"A joyful effort asks for these two qualities of vision and confidence to be always in balance, because it’s when they fall out of balance that we tend to fall into unskillful or unwise effort." - 

Christina Feldman Author Ancient Wisdom meets Modern Psychology