Pilgrimage In A Day

You already know what they are. Some enjoyable. Others not so much. These are the few personal routines that shape our days. And we repeat them each and every day in hopes of a better result at a future date.

Every morning for the past several years, I start the day dialed into a specific routine. And you know me well enough by now, it’s not checking the news from overnight or catching up on Facebook.

My practice is a series of small investments that support my all-around health. The short-term pay-off is hardly noticeable. Over time though, these short morning routines underscore a journey of many actions that were once just ideas.

Any set of rituals performed at the same time and in the same place every day runs the risk of becoming dull. Sometimes, mine feel duller than dull.

The one exercise I really enjoy is to write with a pencil on paper the answers to a series of questions that shape a few observations and reflections. The questions are the same. It’s my answers that change because my experiences change day to day. The journey changes day to day.

That said… one answer always comes out the same:

“I am attentive to the choice I have today.”

Of course we have choices. This is elementary and obvious. Yet, how often do we forget that we have choices?

This one-sentence-answer that I write on my pages every morning create a moment of pause that honors how far my pilgrimage can travel today.

The pilgrimage can move forward because I give to my pilgrimage the power of choice.

Which choices?

Choose to start.
Choose to learn.
Choose to respond.
Choose to show up.
Choose to start over.
Choose to be grateful.
Choose to serve one person.
Choose to go the other direction.

Without, “I am attentive to the choice I have today,” I am stuck. The pilgrimage evaporates into the distraction of the busy day ahead.

Be attentive to the choice you have today. Write it down. Each day. The choice will take you far.

With gratitude,

Joe

Hi, I’m Joe, the owner of 5 With Joe Performance Coaching. My clients are leaders, organizations, and teams who utilize my Olympic Gold Medal performance strategies and 40 years of navigating whitewater river rapids to streamline decision making and actions when engaged in complicated river currents of business and life.

The best way to interact with me is though Sunday Morning Joe, my weekly newsletter that explores the art of improving performance, overcoming challenge, and aligning with purpose for Sunday readers in search of more depth and motivation. Subscribe HERE for free.