Catholics are used to being accountable. As a young child, I
weekly stood in line for the confessional, where I told the priest my litany of
minor sins (I disobeyed my parents; I fought with my sisters). Poor bored Father!
The other day I saw a picture on Facebook of a sign from a church confessional booth
in Ireland, stating that there was “only one priest for one hour of confession
today, so please confess sins quickly and concisely, and don’t go into why you
did it.” Yep! Accountability + brevity = win for all.
I am used to being accountable in certain areas of my life.
Raising responsible, decent kids? Keeping our house tidy (or, at least, keeping
it from falling down)? Checking off my various tasks as spiritual formation
director? I can do all of that! But it gets muddy when I have no clear goals. I want to be a writer. OK,
great! Soooo…write! And then, what? Sell my writing!! But if I do not hold
myself accountable, I do not write—or, if I write, I do not submit.
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| Accountability Time! |
I have just discovered something amazing called the “Self Journal." It is an attractive and compact book where you fill in your goals for a 13 week period. Each goal is then broken down into weekly, daily, then hourly, nuggets. It is surprisingly difficult to deconstruct my lofty ambitions—which is probably why they have remained unrealized. If on Day #1 I hope to identify ten publications accepting submissions, there is the yawning space to fill with these publications! The perfectionist buried deep within the slob in me abhors a vacuum, so I feel compelled to investigate and notate submittable places. Tomorrow? Well, tomorrow I vow to actually submit to these online opportunities. The procrastinator in me has excuses at the ready: hey, it’s Monday! I have other stuff to do! I need to…dust the bric-a-brac! But I am driven to fill in the blanks, at least for today.
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| I know, I know, "Poets and Writers"! I should send out my work! |
So, as I begin my much-loved annual time at the Delaware shore,
may I hold myself accountable. Like the little girl kneeling in the confessional
booth, may I own my mistakes and missteps. But then, may I go further. May I also own my successes, my “wins.” After all, both columns appear on the tote sheet
of life. I think that may be what the Catholic confessional of my childhood
lacked. I believe, with all my heart, that God celebrates our wins, to the
point where our losses are both forgiven and forgotten.
Tomorrow I mark Day #2 of my Self Journal. Much as I’d love
to erase the unrealistic and grandiose ambitions of Day #1, I have written them in
indelible ink. I will leave them as written. And maybe, by Day #52, or Day
#102, I will make some progress towards my goals. And if not, I hope I enjoy
the journey anyway.
I may not be an accountant, but it seems to me those numbers
add up just fine.
Inspirational. I need to get on more of a schedule. I understand there are all sorts of programs that help you keep track of time. I'll try one instead of writing down what I want to accomplish on the next day before I go to bed. I read a book called "Decluttering your Mind," which suggests thinking in three month blocks. Sounds like the 13 week idea.
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