Laying My Foundation

My two year old son loves all types of machines, especially things that build:  tractors, rollers, diggers, cranes....you name it.  So the show, Bob the Builder, is right up his alley.  Even better than the regular animated series, are the specials when Bob goes "on site," featuring film clips of real construction projects.

Our whole family now knows, in detail, the basics of how railroad tracks, roads and bridges are made and my son often recreates these projects when he plays with his train set or in the sand at the park.  After watching a few episodes, I noticed a distinct similarity between Bob's guidelines for completing a project and accomplishing any other goal in one's life.  It seems like a simple four-step process....

Life According to Bob
1.  Plan
2.  Lay Your Foundation
3.  Build
4.  Complete Your Work (which includes clean up!)

When I started this blog in October, it was my intention to establish and implement a plan that addressed "Daily Mastery of the Ordinary."  The goal (#1 -My Plan) was to identify and commit to five daily actions that  would support my big picture goal of living the life I love.  While I knew what my plan was I didn't follow through with identifying my daily five, which I needed in order to move on to Step #2 - Laying My Foundation.

I've spent the past few weeks thinking about the actions that would have a significant and immediate impact on my goal and realized that if I started with focusing on my physical, emotional and spiritual well being I would be able to lay a foundation that would serve my family, my work, and myself.  So here they are, my daily five.

1.  Create the optimum environment for achieving at least 8 hours of sleep each night
2.  Drink a minimum of 64oz of water every day
3.  Take all daily vitamins and supplements
4.  Undivided attention
5.  Set aside time for daily meditation/prayer

The first three items on the list seem like "no-brainers," but without a conscious focus on these things, I find that it's easy for me to let other things (work, play, commitments to others) distract me from making these actions the norm. Of course I know I need these things to be healthy, but without focus...   The last two items are things that I know I need to practice daily, but again without making it a priority, it doesn't happen.

So there it is.  Let's see how it goes!  :-)