Three Things (Part 2)

 Insight shows up when we pay attention and use our intuition to see what's really going on.  It's listening with our heart and seeing with our soul.  It's gaining a deeper understanding by looking deeper than the surface. 

Research is a key requirement for gaining insight.  And insight is a key requirement for the pursuit of excellence.  Whether you've been inspired to cook in a specific ethnic flavor, write a biography, volunteer with a charity or live a healthier lifestyle, knowledge of your subject is essential.  A painter of wildlife studies animal anatomy.  A historical fiction writer reads up on the time period their novel will cover.  An interviewer gets to know as much as possible about the person she's interviewing beforehand, along with related subject matter.  This is elemental.

But insight is more than knowledge.  It is a passion that sets your work - the painting, the book, the relationship, the project - apart from the rest.  Passion ignites deeper thought about how our actions will stir others.  How will our painting move the viewer?  How will our investment into the relationship affect the other?  How will our composition stir the hearts of the audience?  We take ownership not only of the project, but of its effects. Insight gives us a unique perspective on our subject - and turns our deeper ruminations into specific actions.

All our best intentions, however, are nothing without a third element, diligence.

Only when inspired to go beyond consciousness by some extraordinary insight does beauty manifest unexpectedly.  Arthur Erickson

Three Things (Part 1)

Inspiration by itself does not produce results.  Nor does the combination of inspiration and insight, although one might argue that those two in combination can possibly improve someone's character.  But as we pursue excellence in our dreams and passions, a third element is necessary. To be diligent is to be focused and intentional.  Diligence requires self discipline, for when it comes to being successful at our work or play, who else can we discipline (unless parenting is our focus, but that's a subject in it's own right). 

Diligence is the steadfast application of ourselves to the task at hand.  Basically, it's good old-fashioned hard work.  In a culture where instant gratification is the norm, we are often left with a deflated enthusiasm for the time required to produce excellent results.  The drive to be diligent - our energy - is largely fueled by inspiration, whereas our method is produced by insight.

Great leaders who were met at every turn by opposition or desolation, yet refused to give up, were somehow inspired to keep going.  Think of William Wilberforce, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, and Eva Peron.  Their influential actions changed the world, bringing dignity to an oppressed and enslaved humanity.

Mother Theresa, one of the greatest role models of diligence in our time struggled deeply with depression and feelings of Divine abandonment, yet continued her work with relentless focus, courage and energy.  In times of doubt and loneliness, sheer determination drove her forward - determination to be true to God's calling in her life.  Perhaps it was her vision to accomplish one small deed at a time, rather than great, sweeping successes that gave her the ability to move one foot before the other, over and over.  This kind of diligence is difficult to understand; there is no instant gratification in it - yet its results generate a new cycle of inspiration, insight and diligence. 


“I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.”
― Mother Teresa