The Law Of The Harvest

Many years ago I heard some great advice from an employment specialist. She said that when an individual is unemployed they still have a job. Their job is searching for a job.   If they took this job seriously by doing it eight hours every day, they would most likely not be unemployed for very long.  This helps to illustrate the principle I would like to address today---The Law of The Harvest---or in other words you reap what you sow.

All too often I hear patients say, "I can't do that" or,  "That doesn't work." Yet millions of other people, can do that  or have found, that does work. What makes the difference?  It's not that others have superhuman powers or that they figured out a secret to make it work, it is that they have put the time and effort into a certain task, behavior, etc. such that it yielded fruit.  New York Times Best Selling Author Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, talks about the 10,000 hour principle.  He suggests that when someone has spent 10,000 hours doing something, they will have mastered whatever it is they have been doing.  So as you look at the artist, or the dancer, or the public speaker, or whoever, and think "I could never do that," you're wrong!  They can do what they are doing because they put a whole bunch of time into practicing it, not because they have some magic that you don't have.  

Think of something that is important to you and that you do well.  How long have you been doing it, or how many hours have you spent practicing and perfecting it?  I bet you have spent thousands of hours doing it which explains why you are pretty good at it.  

If the high school student spent as much time studying Geometry as he did playing video games, he would probably understand it and get a decent grade in the class.  

Now, speaking of your emotional health, how much time have you spent working on it?  Have you learned about stress management and applied it?  Have you read self help books to address some of your struggles?  Have you counseled with friends and associates or even seen a professional about it?  Are your exercising self discipline and making good choices daily and working to change bad habits?  Are you doing something everyday that contributes positively to your emotional health?  Yes you can do this, but it takes time and consistent effort.  

My next several posts will focus specifically on emotional fitness---aspects of your life that need your time and attention regularly so that you can stay emotionally fit.