Here’s some food for thought. 🍏🥦🥬🥒🫑🥑
According to Google, rigidity means “unable to bend or be forced, out of shape; not flexible.” Rigor however means “the quality of being extremely thorough, comprehensive or accurate, often within demanding, difficult or extreme conditions.” While there may be some overlap here, rigor doesn’t have to mean “inflexible.” If you are creating something new, there are going to be some non-negotiables. If you want to get stronger, you have to show up at the gym most days. Period. If you want to be more authentic, you have to take a “searching and fearless moral inventory” and tell the truth about what you find. That doesn’t mean there’s not room for imperfection. The point is taking thorough, comprehensive and accurate actions to create a powerful container for magic and extraordinary results to show up.
This is not a perfect analogy, but think about designing and building a beautiful picture frame – the measurements and design have to be thorough and accurate. But the picture frame is really just designed for the piece of art- which can be fluid, messy, fun and free! Perhaps a better analogy is the building of a beautiful cathedral or temple. While the building itself is intentionally and beautifully designed, the real purpose of the building is the type of praise, worship, and connection to others and the eternal that can get created inside of such a rigorously designed space.
Being rigorous with honoring your word could mean “I start my bedtime routine precisely when I say I will.” Right alongside that, it could also mean honoring a Way of Being you are committed to bringing to those specific actions. That is to say, you could do exactly what you say you are going to do when you say will AND bring a sense of groundedness, play, enthusiasm, softness, curiosity, and wonder. Being on time doesn’t have to be a frantic, stressful experience, which “rigidity” might induce. If you are living intentionally, rigor can be a foundation for creating anything you want! 🎨🖼⛪️
