Just for Today

Willpower. Discipline. Self-Control. In Hebrew, the term zrizus means "joyful willpower". I don't know about you, but I get mixed feelings when I hear any of those three words. Sometimes, I want to run the other way, since to buckle down and get something done is the last thing I want to do. Procrastinate! Enjoy Freedom! Have Fun!

But there are other times when I willfully, even joyfully, embrace my willpower. When I exercise control over my impulses, such as when I am working out at the gym. At my age, there are definitely days when it's the last place I want to be, but know that in order to help my body maintain peak efficiency, I need to be there. I'll be on the treadmill or the elliptical, plodding along, and notice that it's taking alot of effort to get going. Dismally, I see my remaining time is way less than halfway finished... so, summoning up my zrizus, I tell myself "one more minute" and see if I can do just one more minute. Or on a machine, can I do one more lift? Just one more... it's such a miniscule amount. But, if I keep telling myself, just one more, and do it just one more time, before I know it, I've accomplished my goal! And I really feel good about that. I might even be "in the zone!" In the Zrizus Zone!

Many self-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, and even Reiki practitioners use the mantra "Just for Today, I will_____" and fill in the blank with some action that is difficult to do, such as "be open" or "let go" or "not get mad at little things" or "not try to change what cannot be changed", etc. But sometimes, "Today" is too big a bite to manage, so reduce it down to "Just for this minute..." The reason is that big changes are often too difficult or too threatening, so they must be broken down into more easily digested bites. Baby steps add up over time. Think of it as "One Degree of Change", and by that I mean when you set your course, if you are off by only one degree, over time you will end up in a completely different place than you had planned.