This image reminds of a time recently when I was about to sit for a morning meditation. I was on my morning walk around a two-mile path in the rental space I had for the week. The path was on a man-made island. As is usually the case in this area, the weather was bright, sunny, and just a bit cool. Typical Miami winter morning.
I decided on a place to sit near a large Tequesta Indian statue called, El Centinela Del Rio, or The Sentinel of the River. I figured maybe I’d get some good mojo from the imposing figure.
I took a moment to enjoy the view of the bay and nearby Port of Miami. I took a breath, and as I was about to close my eyes to begin my meditation, right over my head an Osprey swooped by!
I watched in amazement as this bird of prey made a bee-line for a spot in the water. As soon as it hit the water it took off again with its catch held firmly in its talons.
It took me a minute to digest the scene.
- Bird of prey.
- Fish in the water.
- Osprey, with fish, in the air.
- Mission accomplished.
What precision!
For this bird, this is automatic, instinctual behavior. If only us humans could just get things done with this type of confidence and direct intention.
The thing is that Osprey didn't always succeed. When it was first learning to hunt it had to practice over and over again, until it had that technique down. And, even the most skilled Osprey misses his mark every now and then, but that doesn’t stop it from getting to it once more. It knows what it is after and goes for it.
What is it that you want?
Get clarity around what it is that you’re after. When that bird is hungry you can bet that the only thing on its predator-brain is food! It isn’t sitting there pondering what it should do next. It isn’t flying around asking why the other osprey’s in the area are more successful at finding prey. It is 100% clear that it is time to eat and food is the mission at hand, end of story.
Tune in to your instincts and ask yourself, “What is it that I really want to accomplish?” and then ask, “Why is this so important to me?” Shut out the noise in your head. Get clarity around your purpose and mission, and you'll be on your way.
See your fish in the water
You know what goes hand in hand with clarity? Focus. When that hunger pang hits, that bird knows it is time to eat. From that point forward it is crystal clear and focused on obtaining that meal. It doesn’t go run errands first, it just gets after it.
Once you get clarity it is time to get focused. How are you going to go from where you are to where you want to be? How much time do you need to put in to become proficient at the thing that you want to accomplish? What game plan are you going to put in place to help you once you’ve answered some of these questions. Focusing on the task at hand, one step at a time, will get you there.
Are you Committed?
The truth of the matter is, in order to get the accomplishment, we have to be as committed as that Osprey to obtain the results we want. You keep going after it, whatever it is, for however long it takes. There are no shortcuts.
Yes, you can “hack” your life, but even hacking takes time, effort and commitment. Results take consistent hard work. It is that simple. The point is if you aren’t committed to a result then you likely didn’t want it that bad anyway.
"Fall down seven times, get up eight."
Great, you’re:
- Clear
- Focused
- Committed
What comes next?
Perseverance: A continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.
Perseverance is your friend. You know what you want, you know why you want it, you’re committed to obtaining the result. Now you go out there and you don’t stop until that goal is achieved.
There are countless examples of famous figures that were turned down hundreds of times. Or the one’s that failed so miserably at the very thing that they then became legends for. What about all the stories of people that were penniless and living on the streets and slowly but surely crawled their way out of destitution to achieve financial security.
There are many factors to these stories, but the one thing these people had in common is that they persevered.
We, at The Vital Guide, get after it every day. Life comes around and knocks us for a loop but step by step, push by push, we crawl, walk or run in any direction but backward, because we know that we have a mission to be of service to our readers & clients.
So please, read this article once and then come back and read it any time you feel like you’re losing your momentum. There is something great inside you and the world needs to see you express that. Be like the Osprey.
Do you see yourself in this journey? If so share a comment with us and let us know how?
In health,
Pablo