Reflection Quote 004 : Goethe on Focus and what matters most

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
⏤ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This eloquent quote puts it succinctly. That which is most important to you cannot be left at the mercy of all that which matters least. In the hustle-bustle of life, we find ourselves putting out fires or just taking care of daily maintenance of our lives so we can function. Often, this is all done in a bit of a hurry and because of that time pressure, we end up doing things without mindfulness.

As a result, there are times when we are swept away in the cacophony of things to do, voices of the world, and the rustling of chores. Even staying aware of what matters most to us becomes a distant memory. Didn't you write it down during your year end review and introspection? Yes, you did and not those priorities, dreams and goals are resting comfortably in the pages of your journal or the digital abyss of your computer.

Photo by Thomas Lambert

Things that matter most

What is that thing that matters most to you? Can you spill it out on the spur of this moment? Without forethought, without thinking? I must admit this is challenging and I do have to take a moment at times to remember - what is it that matters most to me? 

One of the reasons for this is that we all have many different things that we call "priority", not least because there are important things in the many categories of our life such as health, relationship, work/career/business, community, finance, spirituality, and so on. So already that makes at least a handful of "things that matter most". And this makes it difficult to keep all of our priorities top-of-mind.

But what if we could find out for us what is the most important thing ⏤  THE thing that matters most to us. I believe that if we can figure out that one thing, all other priorities in the other categories will become self-evident. That One thing will serve as an umbrella for all our other priorities to logically and emotionally fit together, like a cascading waterfall, one priority will flow into the next and then into the next and become a coherent whole. Then we will not forget what matters most to us. Then we will be able to know at the spur of the moment what our one thing is. And this will enable us to take action, beat procrastination, kick doubt on the way side and begin to enjoy a deeper level of inner-peace.

But to get to that one thing that flows into everything else, we need to dig deep within us and we will find that actually the answers were floating on the surface of our awareness all along. Would you like to do this process with me now? We can in a few minutes become aware of that which matters most to us. All you need is a few minutes of undisturbed silence, a pen and paper or this worksheet below that you can download. And we can begin.

The Process Of Finding Out Your Thing That Matters Most

Step 1:

Take a few minutes to just sit quietly and comfortably. Put all your projects to the side for now. Now take a moment to answer either of these two questions:

1. If you could only have one thing but have it fulfilled, what would you want most for yourself that will make all other parts of your life easy, meaningful, and happier?

2. What is it that you want most right now, and why?

Answer A: 

Step 2:

Next, reflect on the why behind your answers.

1. Why is it that you want the Answer A you wrote down above? What will that bring into your life? 
2. In what way will having A, make other parts of your life easier, happier, more fulfilling? Write down how it will effect ALL aspects of your life including Money & Finances, Health, Family & Relationships, Sense of Contribution/Legacy/Fulfillment, Spirituality, Business/Career, Other

Answer B:
 

Step 3:

Reflect on the next question

1. What actions do you need to take in order to make Answer A & B active in your life?

2. What new habits whether activities or mind-set changes do you need to make in order to make Answer A&B possible in your life?

Answer C:

Step 4:

Time for making this actionable.

Now that you have the exact actions identified, can you commit on actually bringing those actions into your life? If so, when and what time of the week will you take some moments to implement it? Note down days of the week, the time or any other details you need to make this happen.

Answer D: 

Step 5:

Articulate Your Thing That Matters Most to you

Now that you have completed steps 1-4, reflect on Answer A again. Do you need to modify it in any way? And then, phrase What matters most to you in a single sentence:

Answer E: What matters most to me is ..........

___

Results Of My Own Process

As for me, after I completed this process, I realized that:

What matters most to me is taking daily actions of writing, meditating, walking, reading and carrying a mindset of gratitude and loving kindness.

I'm sharing my process results at the back of the Process Worksheet. So if you'd like to see how I came up with the above answer, you can download the entire worksheet below:

I'm glad you went through this process of getting to the core of what matter most. Now you can write it down in your journal or on a notecard and keep it on you, taking it everywhere you go. The purpose of doing that is to keep what matters most to you, top of your mind, so you can take actions to help make that thing that matters most to you, happen in your life. 

I'd love to see what you came up with. Do share in the comments what matters most to you and anything else you'd like to share about doing this process.

Much peace to you,

Sophia

About the author of the quote:

"Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, (born August 28, 1749, Frankfurt am Main[Germany]—died March 22, 1832, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar), German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist, considered the greatest German literary figure of the modern era". ⏤ Brittanica.com

Provided From Within.

This week's postcard and quote sets the tone for the four postcards for the month of April which are all around the theme of self-love and abundance. As I am revamping reflectionpond.com and adding useful products up on the site, I am naturally focussed outwardly. This quote by Goethe, points out so eloquently that our abundance and our wealth is within us. Teachers of consciousness will very clearly demonstrate to us that our consciousness creates our outer world. In other words, our inner life is what determines our experience on the sensory, physical plane. No matter how many times I hear that, I am just amazed at that concept. My external, environment really is a result of how I am thinking, feeling and vibrating in my consciousness! It certainly is empowering because now I have complete "control" or let us say rather, responsibility to create my experiences. Powerful, don't you think?

I am reminded of an incident that just happened last week when I was visiting the post office to mail off some books. I wanted to give the Post Office Representative exact change which included three pennies in the total amount. As I handed him the pennies, I said: "3 lucky pennies for you!" To which he replied with some concern: "There goes your luck". I found myself smiling at him and saying: "The more I give, the more there is!" These words came so spontaneously, along with a sense of realization that there is always more and more and more created in our world of abundance. Besides, I have come to believe that we are all lucky. Everything is lucky. Each moment is lucky. We are swimming in a sea of Luckiness.

And all that abundance and luck is provided from within. It is within us, to begin with. It has become such a habit for us to look to the outside world for our happiness. We may look to circumstances, to people, to the weather, to the world around us and what we see is a sign of the state of affairs in our internal world, either individually or collectively as human civilization. Let us begin to provide ourselves with plentitude and follow Goethe's suggestion to look within.

Love,

Sophia 

Whatever you can do or dream you can do, just begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin now. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We, the Lehner's (Max, Caroline, Bernardo & Martina), are all positive-minded people and are especially pleased with people who think, act and feel the same. In our opinion, it is never too late to go for something that one wishes, dreams or believes to achieve. Never lose sight of your goals in life, whether concrete or abstract. And when these goals are derived from your inner self, they give you power and positive energy, and the challenge of new tasks fires you up. I am not just talking about career goals, but also about sports or private things that give us the necessary drive and the feeling of complete satisfaction, once they are achieved. It must indeed be no big "impossible" goals; let's start small and rejoice in mastering tasks, that we have given ourselves. 

My dream in life is to run a marathon. However, finishing a half-marathon would please me greatly for sure to start with. Bernardo would love to go to New York and run along with tens of thousands of others in the famous Marathon (what a beautiful dream...or goal). All things can be reached, if one is persistent and firmly believes in it. Caroline (11) is happy every time she has cleared an obstacle in horse show jumping, just to focus on her next practice session in which she can raise the bar an inch higher...step by step! Max (13) is facing his final school tests for 8th grade, and sets out to pass them with good marks - every day we are facing hurdles to overcome (like in the photo). To manage that gives us strength, drive and satisfaction - we feel good!

I once received a postcard from a dear friend along with the above quote from Goethe. It is on my desk, so I see it every day and delight in the words and their wonderful meaning which I try to implement in everyday life! Someone who thinks he or she has achieved everything in life, will eventually feel lost and unhappy. The one who says that none of their goals can be achieved will just as well end up miserable, because of not believing in his or her own abilities! In this case, our advise is to start "small", to set little goals and take it "step by step". That's because we think: "Where there's a will, there's always a way"; everyone can accomplish what they really want to! 
  
Courage, conviction and positive thinking are so important in life to achieve everything, that one has resolved to do! We are working on it every day...and you, dear Sophia and Cristof, do too, it shows! 
  
Greetings to the entire team of Reflection Pond! We all feel very connected with your philosophy and your work! We firmly believe in your success and are always open for a contribution!

 
Tanti saluti dalla Sardegna, Martina, Bernardo, Max e Caroline (incl. Lissy & Tinka) 
  
PS: This photo was taken in June of last year: riding lesson of Caroline; she really wanted to attempt and clear this obstacle - where there's a will, there's always a way!!

-Martina Lehner