Do You Know What You Know?
“It’s not knowing what to do, it’s doing what you know.” ~Tony Robbins
Knowing. I’ve been sitting with this word for a bit. Wondering what it is that I actually know for sure. There are a few things. For example, I know that when I’m feeling stressed, finding a peaceful space — even if it simply means turning off the radio in the car — always helps. I know how to write, how to speak, and how to coach. I know that I LOVE to write, and to speak, and to coach. I know that playing a game of Jenga with my kids is a whole lot of fun. And I know that very little beats an evening winter’s walk, with the snow falling in huge flakes, followed by a cup of hot chocolate in front of the fireplace. These are some of the things I know for sure.
In Tony Robbins’ quote above, he basically states that knowing what to do is less important than doing what you know. Do you do what you know? My sense is that, what he’s pointing to is the answer to the question that so many hold — what should I do with my life? According to his quote, it’s really not about what you choose to do, it’s about choosing to base your doing in what you know. So, the question comes full circle and asks you to look at what you know. My head could actually spin a little if I sat with this for too long.
When I look at my short list above of “what I know”, and I translate that into a “things to do” list, the bottom-line is this: what I know is that I’m good at certain things, and that I also love doing those things. So those are the things I need to do. Tony Robbins doesn’t say anything about loving what you do; and yet, I assert that in addition to doing what you know, it’s vital to do what you love. Doing what you know is great; doing what you love is great; doing what you know AND love is phenomenal. When you do what you know and love, work is rarely work — it feels more like play. This is the zone in which you can confidently say I love what I do, I do what I love, and I get paid to do it — life is good (or great!).
Bottom-line: if you don’t know the answer yet, take a moment to unearth it. Ask yourself the question, what do I know? Then ask, what do I love of what I know? And finally, I can I do what I know and love? Do that, and your world will transform.
Time to Tweak Time (????)
So, was reminded today that it’s been a while since I posted a blog entry. Thanks for the gentle nudge, Kimberly!
Yes, things have had me a little scattered lately. Indeed, I’ve had a few wake-up calls to the fact that I’m definitely being pulled in several directions, and that my focus is hardly 100% here-and-now. No worries — and it’s a good lesson in awareness for me.
One of the things we do in our household, before we each depart for whatever it is that the day holds for us, is set a goal/intention. How do we want our day to be? What do want to accomplish? It can be big, little, in-between — but we all do it, even the kidlets. It’s a great way to “point ourselves” so-to-speak. And today, my intention is to “tweak time”, or more specifically how I interact with it, how I use it (or don’t), and how I dance with what shows up vs. what’s already on my “to-do” list.
I’m aware that part of what’s going on for me is a sense of wanting to do a LOT of things. My podcast is just about ready to go live (March 18th is the scheduled launch); my co-author and I have just committed to launch in the writing of the 2nd book in our series (gulp! and yeah! all at once); my children have dance competitions and hockey tournaments; I’m aiming to run a marathon next year, which means starting to train now; every day I wake up with a new business project idea; and then there’s just the everyday workings of a professional woman in today’s society. In other words, I’m juggling all the same stuff my clients juggle (which is good — it allows me to walk my talk).
And so, it’s time for me to revisit my “ideal week” — check out how I’m actually spending my time, and tweak what isn’t working. Remembering that nothing is written in stone, it’s time for me to re-carve my schedule, play with new ways of playing, and have some fun. In other words, it’s time to lighten up — unburden myself of some of the load and have some fun. Join me on the ride? It should be a fun one!