Why “Showing Up Every Day” Moves Your Priorities Forward

On Monday, I talked about Seth Godin’s concept of “Show up every day.”

Musicians can get stuck easily.  Whether through fatigue, high expectations of ourselves, or too many responsibilities, it’s easy to get paralyzed and start spinning our wheels.

Today, I’m going to share with you 6 reasons why “Show up every day” can move you forward in life.

“Show Up Every Day” moves me forward for these reasons:

1. It takes the pressure off today.

It may seem like a contradiction and is a bit ironic, but focusing on “showing up every day” actually takes the pressure off today.  For recovering perfectionists like me, it helps me realize that everything doesn’t rise and fall on just today, because…

2. It focuses on the long term.  

The reality is, when I’m overwhelmed, most of the time it’s a result of going into panic mode on some project or area of my life, as if everything has to get done today and everything has to be perfect.  When I get into this way of thinking, my nerves go on overdrive, my creative thinking takes a nose dive, and I end up spinning my wheels all day long.

Showing up every day puts my focus on the “cumulative effect” of doing something every day to move that area of my life forward.

Whether it’s my marriage, this blog, rehearsing a song, or planning our church’s music, if I focus on “showing up every day,” namely showing up today, I am motivated to make a contribution today to the priorities of my life.

Seth Godin would say, “Drip, drip, drip….” Over a period of time, small, daily contributions add up.

3. It puts me in the moment.  

When I am overwhelmed, I am probably focused on some distraction that is not priority.  I have allowed everything to be important, resulting in nothing being important.

If I focus on showing up today, I do the work that is there for me that day – the thing that is most important right then.  Results will come down the road.  Today, my responsibility is to show up for the right things.

4. It focuses me on what I can control.  

If I focus on circumstances outside my control (things I didn’t do but have affected me negatively), I tend to spin my wheels, wondering what I’m going to do next, if I’m making any difference, or why things are turning out the way they are.

If I focus on “showing up today,” I am focused on doing the things that are within my power.

When Joseph was thrown into prison, even after doing the right thing, God was with him, and he prospered.  He didn’t sulk.

Everywhere he went, no matter the circumstances around him, he demonstrated responsibility and was given leadership because God was with him and things succeeded in his hands.  The cumulative affect of that over time was that people saw he was worthy of responsibility.

Sold into slavery and taken to Potiphar’s house?  He was a good steward of what he was given.

Thrown in jail?  He demonstrated responsibility and became manager over the other prisoners.

Become the 2nd in the land? He just kept on taking care of what was given to him, just like he had all along.

We should focus on what we can do, not the circumstances outside our control.

5. It focuses me on moving forward. 

When life takes an unexpected turn, if I refocus on continuing to show up today, then I can move on from the hurt brought by surprise trials.

When life sends a big change, refocusing on “showing up” helps you move forward.

If I continue to show up to my time with God, He will direct me during the storm.

If on Sunday, the song didn’t go right or the words on the screen were wrong, I can refocus on showing up today for next Sunday.

I can move forward by doing what I can for what’s coming up.

6. It focuses my passions.  

I can be easily distracted by multiple interests.  If I have 5 or 6 priorities written out, – by priorities I mean the 5 or 6 main areas of responsibility I have –  and I focus on showing up for those every day, moving each one forward each day, then I can let go of other endeavors that could steal my focus.

“Show up every day.”  Not the most flashy thing, but it gets the job done.