I’ve heard a rut described as a coffin with the ends kicked out, implying that ruts are the end of us. That may be, but much of life is repetitive. For example, most of us have a standard morning routine. Many of the ways I spend myself today are repetitions of the ways I have done so many times in the past.
It isn’t the rut itself that is deadly, but what I bring to it. My energy does deaden when I take the position “been there, done that.” That position results in me pulling back and only partially participating. It is the partial participation that is the killer.
I believe a mark of a master is that s/he approaches each task as if for the first time. In fact, each moment of now is new. There is always the opportunity for discovery, even in the midst of the most mundane task.
One of the best ways to keep my approach to repetitive tasks fresh is by learning. Through learning I rejuvenate myself. My point of view shifts, if only so slightly. This new perspective supports the freshness.
I remain in admiration of the team on the Island that comprise Vancouver Island Excellence Seminars. Each of them challenges self daily to “approach as if for the first time”. In doing so, they not only further our mission of strengthening the fabric of goodwill that exists in the world, but provide living examples of mastery.
~ Randy Revell, Co-Founder of Context Associated