Journal Fri 24 March - Help yourself
by dmsh · 11 things on Twos
- Whilst washing up I was reminded of one of Jordan Peterson’s “rules”. It is something like, treat yourself as if you are someone for whom you are responsible for helping.
For me, that means:
- Don’t just do what you want. Sure, there is time for that. But do what is best for you. You want to stay in bed, but you know that is not best for you. It is best for you to get up and enjoy the quiet, and write and read.
- So what is best for me?
- Reading the Bible daily
- Memorising a new verse from the Bible every day
- Making time to write most days
- Being aware of myself. Breathing helps with this. Mindfulness. Having that sober mind I wrote about a few days ago.
- I know all this. But I don’t do them. Why? Because it is hard. OK, it’s not that hard. But it takes discipline, and the rewards are not instant. For example, I know, because I have learned from experience, that memorising a new verse of Scripture every day is extremely edifying. It builds me up and strengthens my spirit in a remarkable way. But it takes time. There is a slow momentum which is built up day by day. There is nothing like it. But am I doing it? No. If I am treating myself as someone for whom I am responsible for helping, I would say to myself, make the time. Choose a Psalm. Anything. Memorise it. A verse a day. Don’t worry about “is it the right one?”. Just ask God to guide you and start. Do it, because it will be very good for you!
- Also, writing. You know that you like to write. You know, again from experience, that you find it cathartic. It helps you think clearly. So, make time to do it every day. You should write out your day. What is happening in your day? Write about it. Write about what you’re going to do. Write about who you are in the midst of all these activities or meetings. What is your place in them? How do you feel about them? What do you want from them? Write it all down.
- Right now I am in a busy coffee shop about ten minutes drive from my house. I knew I had to get out of the house. So I told myself, get out of the house. You’ve done the washing up, you’ve put a load of clothes in the washing machine, and now you need to get out otherwise you’re going to spend the next two hours procrastinating.
- You responsible for helping you. Help yourself.