Building a Cathedral
Besides my computer and the podcast microphone, my desk is empty, ready for me to sit down and get going. I finished my morning routine, shaved my head and put on a clean shirt. I am ready!Sitting down to look at my task list for today, I remembered a story my father told me when I trained with him as a mason in the old world tradition many years ago.A man walked by a construction site where he saw three masons chipping away on granite blocks. He asked the first one: “What are you doing?” The mason replied, “I am hammering a block to make a stone.” The man went on to ask the second mason what he was doing. “I am making a stone that will be used to build a wall.” The man then asked the third mason what he was doing. The mason stopped hammering, thought for a moment, then put a big smile on his face. “I am building a cathedral.”This story shows three different examples of who I can be when doing my work. Looking at my notebook in front of me, I can look at my tasks at hand in a variety of ways.
- I need to do this!- I do not really like to do that!- Why do I have to do it?- I did not ask for it!…. This is going to be one of these days where I’ll be glad when it’s over!!!
Or
- Doing this will help me to accomplish that.- These are tasks I need to do this week so I need to stay on top of them.- I need to do this to meet Friday’s deadline.- It is needed for the team meeting tomorrow.
Or
- All my tasks today are part of building my cathedral, my future. They are an intrinsic part of my plan of getting what I want.
To get that clarity, I need to write down what I want to accomplish (my goals). Make a plan and set a time when I want to have it done. Then, planning my week (preferably the Sunday before),I look at my plan, decide what I need to put into action this week on my way to accomplishing my Goals, and then write down in my planner what I will do on what day.Now my tasks are not just blocks I am hammering on. Now they are part of the wonderful Cathedral I am building.