Keep Digging

“The root ball is big. It won’t be hard to get out, but, It will be a lot of digging.”

My friend sent over those words of encouragement. I was seeking advice on how to transplant a Palm Tree in my neighbor’s yard. The palm needed to be dug up, the root ball left undamaged and moved over a foot. The tree to be clear of the house. My neighbor was tired of the giant leaves engulfing the side of her house.

I was unaware of the tree’s age. The roots were deep and the tree was at home. If it was up to me I’d let the tree stay in tune with the earth sound. Yet, it needed to be transplanted. After two hours of digging, I was spent. The blister in the middle of my palm screamed and begged for me to stop. It was at this point where my brain started dreaming up excuses to quit.

I can tell my neighbor that it’s not going to budge. I recall her saying that if we couldn’t excavate it, she would buy another and chop the old one down. Hmm. Should I knock on the door?

Let me reach out to my friend one more time, and see what he says.

Mike, Any shortcuts to getting this out of the ground?

HaHa, nope…keep digging. There are no shortcuts.

And that is when it dawned on me…

How many times have you dug deep into a project, only to hit a stumbling block? Rocks and roots barricading the entrance. After countless tries, the project starts exhausting you. The interruptions and hardships start mentally draining your workflow, and energy. Your supporting cast and the groundwork that was paved in front of you has disappeared. And yet, here you stand, alone with this mental block, searching for a shortcut, or way out. All you keep hearing is the voice inside of you…saying, abort. Try again later. Move on. Every excuse known to man percolates in your mind.

As I sat, Sun dazed with an itch of spring fever. A quote appeared before me.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour. You don’t have to do it all today. Just lay a brick.”

And my friend’s insight re-appeared. “It won’t be hard to get it out of the ground….keep digging.”

The heaviness of the shovel weighed down on me as I pitched it into the ground, one swing at a time. At the five-hour mark, the palm budged. After six hours the tree was transferred to its new home.

All projects need special care. Each one presenting their own set of challenges. To overcome the hardships, adversity, and mental blockages you have to keep digging. The feeling you get from accomplishing your goals will fuel your next adventure.

You don’t have to do it all today. Just lay a brick and keep on digging.