Have an Intrinsically Rewarding Year

"No  Judgement, No Accolades - Just reflect and be at peace in your practice."

That was how Magi, my yoga teacher, closed out yoga class yesterday. I have to admit it was breath-taking in its clarity. Focus on what you wish to achieve, do what is within and maybe a little beyond your capability, and take heart in the job well done. It's startling when you hear it from a very young, American yogi, but wisdom comes in a variety of packages.

It's a message I've heard a multitude of times. One of the earliest times I remember being from my coach, A.J. Jallaludin.

A rifle-shooting competition tends to have a competitor shooting between 60 to 120 shots in as many or fewer minutes. If you were to stop and exalt or stress about each shot, you'd never make it in time. Worse, you'd never have the equanimity to pay attention to the task on hand - trying to get a center shot the next time around. This requires exquisite awareness of your own body's rhythm, controlling your breath, being aware of the wind and changes in light, and ultimately freeing your subconscious to make the shot when it's the right time. Jalal-uncle, as I called him, would remind me that "the last shot is over, the next shot isn't real yet...the only shot to focus on is this one."

I realize that a rifle-shooting analogy today, on the day the President announces his gun control plan may seem odd. But let me tell you, I'm not a big one for hoarding automatic weapons... But that's another blog-post altogether.

I write about rifle shooting, because it taught me to be centered, to focusing on the essence of the work I was doing, it was Yogic at it's core.

All work can be that way. There is an intrinsic joy that comes from a job well done. The shot in the center is only an external manifestation, an indicator, of the well-done job. I remember long Sundays where I would be in the range for hours, shooting 100 rounds or more...people would come and go. It was just me, wanting to shoot another 100/100 (that's 10 shots in the center which gets you 10 points each time, they are counted up in strings of 10 shots.)

Many times in the past decade away from shooting, I have to admit I've ignored that sense of intrinsic rewards. The extrinsic often takes over - the latest paycheck, the promotion, the "likes", the biggest network, of being acknowledged as being "right." So many, many extrinsic ways to measure my worth! How could I NOT succumb?

2012 and 2013 are about my getting back to the intrinsic enjoyment of the job well done. I wish that on all of us. May we all take the time, and get the guidance to define what our value is in the world, and then let's quietly deliver on that value. It's going to be such fun!