What Can I Do It Today?

How do I divert myself? let me count the ways. If inertia is standing in your way, find out how to move it out of the way and find out what you can do today.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's podcasting site: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628038

"The Grasshopper" is the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

What Can I Do Today?

I don't think I'm alone when I say, "inertia is my weakest suit." It’s always the piece that stands in the way of me beginning something I deem worthwhile.

I could call it lazy and leave it at that, but it’s abundantly clear that when I do begin something, I put massive amounts of effort into it that could never be labeled as lazy.

Then I began to wonder about this lifelong trait and discovered that I see things as a whole rather than a collection of their component parts. This makes everything look like a mountain to me. It takes lots of effort to climb a mountain. Then I got a gift from The Grasshopper. All he said was “Today.”

The meaning wasn’t clear at first, but images of a workshop I attended many years before popped into my head. It was a management workshop where the group leader said that the initial objective is never to get to a 10 – 10 being the ideal. His advice was to assess where you were on the continuum of zero to 10 by assigning your current position a number. Let’s suppose you rate yourself to be a 4. The question you want to ask yourself at this point is not how do I get to 10, but how do I get to a 5?

When we view something as a mountain, we miss seeing the foot trails that will lead us to the top. It’s usually at this point that we find a diversion to dwell on. Reminds me of a story . . .

My friend and former business partner, John Leslie tells the tale of a man who recently moved into his neighborhood. He watched this fellow standing in the driveway of his new home staring at all the boxes the movers had stored in the garage. They were stacked from floor to ceiling. Having moved a number of times himself, John said he could see the wheels turning in the new neighbor’s head and he could almost read his thoughts about what a big job it was going to be to unpack all those boxes and put the items where they belonged. After contemplating this chore, this guy picked up a broom and swept the driveway instead.

I’ve done a lot of driveway sweeping in my time, and the way to put down that broom and accomplish your objective is to focus on today. What can I do today that will have me step in the direction I want to go? What piece of the jigsaw puzzle can I put in place today? It doesn’t have to be a big piece. In fact, it’s better that you begin slowly so it doesn’t feel like a monumental task.

I find that a list is helpful. Many of us have enough hubris that we think we can keep everything in our head all the time. Oftentimes, it’s productive to take that collection of thoughts and commit them to paper and then prioritize them. Then it’s time to ask the question, what can I do today?

You may get caught up in diversionary internal conversation and say things like, “doing this little thing won’t accomplish anything.” Notice that conversation. Let it have its say and then do the small piece anyway. This is the gift of willpower – to do the little things. Willpower can never accomplish the big things; it only has enough energy to accomplish the small pieces. When enough small pebbles begin to accumulate, the beginning of an avalanche cannot be that far off.

Ask yourself the following question often and see what happens.

WHAT CAN I DO TODAY?

All the best,

John