Structure sets you free…
Many people have asked me what I mean by that simple statement that sounds counterintuitive. How can walls set you free? Or how can an out of bounds marker allow a game to flourish? It is the ultimate purpose of law; to allow freedom. We often misinterpret what freedom means. Many think that freedom is to do what you want, when you want. I submit that is actually a form of slavery. To do what you want when you want makes you a slave to your passing whims and fancies. What is immediate becomes most desirable. Most good things would collapse if we were ruled by our impulses. “I don’t feel like maintaining the Ferris wheel today” which is the predecessor to tragedy or imagine a Navy Seal saying “All this ammunition is heavy I am just going to leave half of it here on the helicopter because its really hot in Afghanistan right now.”
We are all waging our personal wars against distraction and whim. Those who experience the most vividness of existence are winning the wars. Those that cultivate mediocrity driven by impulse, are losing. Mediocrity is not from lack of talent, it’s from a lack of determination, an unwillingness to be held accountable to their commitments. But determination is often thought of as a magical quality, but I submit the magic is structure. There is a myth that states ‘showing up for work, for class or for practice is more than half the battle.’ What can that mean? How can just showing up be the marker of drive and determination? Its simple, we live in a world of infinite distraction. Everything on this planet is a vampire for your attention, now more than ever. We have the internet, smartphones, ipads and tablets to divert our attention. How about texting as an example for an immediate distraction?
There is a natural law which states if you have a one car garage you cannot have two cars in it at the same time! Or in more scientific language, any object cannot occupy the space of another object simultaneously. It is the same principle with your attention. If you just show up to class, training, writing or whatever supports your objectives, you just eliminated an infinite amount of distractions that could have derailed you. My wife says that the toughest part of getting in shape is getting yourself TO the gym, not the actual workout. Once you commit, you are then free of all the other options for distraction. It is simple and brilliant!
Ask yourself, what structures have you committed yourself to? Which one will create the freedom you desire? Do you want to be wealthy? If yes, what is your structure for its fulfillment? If your answer is, ‘when I have the time I will study how to become wealthy’, guess what? It will not happen. In fact, you will never have the time because your everyday experience tells you that there is always something else to do. It is always easier to say no than to say yes. There are always more reasons not to take action instead of taking the action. But goals and wealth are only built by action, consistent action otherwise known as structure. What we do on a day to day, week to week, month to month time frame matters. The more you do something the better you will get at it. The greater the student the greater your ability to learn absorb and see subtleness of context. Have you ever wondered why the rich get richer? Beyond the social myths that the rich are greedy, cheaters or lucky…they are in a constant conversation of building wealth by showing up at the ‘I want to be wealthy class, club, fraternity, book club, rally, etc.’ Success on any level is not a mystery you just need a structure for it. Protect your attention and keep it focused on the design of your choice. Lock yourself into a structure to bring it into existence. If you don’t, someone else will harness your attention to create something that they want and you may become their slave. Being a slave is easy, being free requires mindfulness of your attention.
