Life, it has been said, goes on.
Despite our hopes and dreams that it slows down so that we can get a firmer grasp on what's going on around us, it just continues on inexorably towards wherever the hell it is going. We hope to steer it, to guide it, and maybe some of us do manage to get a handle on the thing but then that could all be angles and Photoshop. Most of us are just along for the ride, holding on to what we can while we watch our lives play out before us like a quiet little independent film that lacks plot and direction and is desperate need of comic relief. And a romantic subplot would be nice too.
I thought I would enter this year on a steady path, well, steadier path, but life has other plans as it usually does. Don't get me wrong, I am on plan it's just that I figured it would look different when I got here. But then we all do that, don't we? If you've read these before, you know to me that the New Year isn't resolutions but reassessment and recalculation. This day isn't magic, but it is a convenient milestone that can be used for measurement. This year I got to where I figured I would, but something about here still doesn't feel right. Like maybe I'm focusing on the wrong things.
And that which you aren't changing you're choosing.
Change is is said, is inevitable. The trick is, as I've said before, is that when you can you need to make changes on your schedule and not have them thrust upon you. So while I could wait and see what happens, that's not always prudent. I also need to start prep for what comes next, because chance favors the prepared. (I stole that one from a Steven Segal movie, seriously). I have some things I need to polish, practice and study to help me out career-wise, some other things I need to get at to improve my health, and I need to sit my ass down and finish what I started with the latest first draft of a story I was trying to put together. An actual to do list if you will.
Every year I implore those around me to do something, anything, to get started on the path to...somewhere. This year I ask again, but this year I'm going to suggest a focus. That you take an honest sit down with yourself and figure out where you want to be in six months, in a year and in five years. And then write it down and figure out the steps between where you are now and where you just figured out where you want to be. It may take some adjustments...running marathons take practice, platinum selling music artists usually take a whole year and doctorates in nuclear physics a touch longer, but just figure out what is between here and where your destination lies. Lay out the path, look the steps that you can control. Research a bit, and figure it out. If nothing else it will put your idea in the proper perspective.
Then execute. Seriously.
Let me give you an example. I wanted to write a book. So I sat down and I figured out what the story was about. Then I figured out how the story got from A to B, and from B to C and so on, a whole outline. Then fleshed out the characters, their motivations, how they thought. Then I went back and figured out how they got from B to B1 to C because I forgot some things. Then I started writing, sometimes just filling in fillers when I hit snag. This is the first draft not the final product. This means I've started, which is a milestone in and of itself. True, this time while writing I got stuck on one conversation at a crucial part of the story that I know at this point I've rewritten 20 times, but that's my fault. Instead of treating it like a first draft I erred. But I can correct that. But at least I'm moving forward.
And are we moving forward is the question we all need to ask ourselves.
Sit down, maybe over a few days and figure out what you want to do. Travel? Move? Become a motivational speaker? A new career? Start your own business? Great, whatever it is that will enrich your life that's your aim. The first steps are usually simple: a budget, a resume polish, housing search or reading up on an industry. Then commit to the idea for two weeks or so. That time period is not overly long but long enough to get a few things done. Then execute, see if your plan is manageable. See if you're serious. And even if along the way you change your mind, or circumstances change and you have re-assess, you'll be doing so from a better position than you're in right now. You will have started.
All you need to do is start. And when you falter, as you probably will, to not stop.
My thoughts...
What looks good to you isn't always what's good for you.
Sometimes all we really need is a quiet nudge to get started. You can give yourself the nudge.
Eat when you're hungry, not because it's time. And eat until you're full, not until all the food is gone.
Distractions can end you if you're not careful.
Real friendships don't end, even after they cease to be day-to-day.
There is no path, good or bad, there is only the journey and the steps you take.
Just because someone is in charge doesn't mean they know what they're doing.
- Okay, this one I did not learn this year, I've known it for a long time. This year has just re-affirmed it.
A good meal with good friends is worth more than you can imagine.
I need to clean my house more often.
Everyone has their own demons. Don't assume your demons can whup their demons.
If you work on yourself, the rest will work itself out.
You don't always win. But you never stop giving your all.
Love is eternal. It not always demonstrative, but it's always there. And don't you forget it.
Despite our hopes and dreams that it slows down so that we can get a firmer grasp on what's going on around us, it just continues on inexorably towards wherever the hell it is going. We hope to steer it, to guide it, and maybe some of us do manage to get a handle on the thing but then that could all be angles and Photoshop. Most of us are just along for the ride, holding on to what we can while we watch our lives play out before us like a quiet little independent film that lacks plot and direction and is desperate need of comic relief. And a romantic subplot would be nice too.
I thought I would enter this year on a steady path, well, steadier path, but life has other plans as it usually does. Don't get me wrong, I am on plan it's just that I figured it would look different when I got here. But then we all do that, don't we? If you've read these before, you know to me that the New Year isn't resolutions but reassessment and recalculation. This day isn't magic, but it is a convenient milestone that can be used for measurement. This year I got to where I figured I would, but something about here still doesn't feel right. Like maybe I'm focusing on the wrong things.
And that which you aren't changing you're choosing.
Change is is said, is inevitable. The trick is, as I've said before, is that when you can you need to make changes on your schedule and not have them thrust upon you. So while I could wait and see what happens, that's not always prudent. I also need to start prep for what comes next, because chance favors the prepared. (I stole that one from a Steven Segal movie, seriously). I have some things I need to polish, practice and study to help me out career-wise, some other things I need to get at to improve my health, and I need to sit my ass down and finish what I started with the latest first draft of a story I was trying to put together. An actual to do list if you will.
Every year I implore those around me to do something, anything, to get started on the path to...somewhere. This year I ask again, but this year I'm going to suggest a focus. That you take an honest sit down with yourself and figure out where you want to be in six months, in a year and in five years. And then write it down and figure out the steps between where you are now and where you just figured out where you want to be. It may take some adjustments...running marathons take practice, platinum selling music artists usually take a whole year and doctorates in nuclear physics a touch longer, but just figure out what is between here and where your destination lies. Lay out the path, look the steps that you can control. Research a bit, and figure it out. If nothing else it will put your idea in the proper perspective.
Then execute. Seriously.
Let me give you an example. I wanted to write a book. So I sat down and I figured out what the story was about. Then I figured out how the story got from A to B, and from B to C and so on, a whole outline. Then fleshed out the characters, their motivations, how they thought. Then I went back and figured out how they got from B to B1 to C because I forgot some things. Then I started writing, sometimes just filling in fillers when I hit snag. This is the first draft not the final product. This means I've started, which is a milestone in and of itself. True, this time while writing I got stuck on one conversation at a crucial part of the story that I know at this point I've rewritten 20 times, but that's my fault. Instead of treating it like a first draft I erred. But I can correct that. But at least I'm moving forward.
And are we moving forward is the question we all need to ask ourselves.
Sit down, maybe over a few days and figure out what you want to do. Travel? Move? Become a motivational speaker? A new career? Start your own business? Great, whatever it is that will enrich your life that's your aim. The first steps are usually simple: a budget, a resume polish, housing search or reading up on an industry. Then commit to the idea for two weeks or so. That time period is not overly long but long enough to get a few things done. Then execute, see if your plan is manageable. See if you're serious. And even if along the way you change your mind, or circumstances change and you have re-assess, you'll be doing so from a better position than you're in right now. You will have started.
All you need to do is start. And when you falter, as you probably will, to not stop.
My thoughts...
What looks good to you isn't always what's good for you.
Sometimes all we really need is a quiet nudge to get started. You can give yourself the nudge.
Eat when you're hungry, not because it's time. And eat until you're full, not until all the food is gone.
Distractions can end you if you're not careful.
Real friendships don't end, even after they cease to be day-to-day.
There is no path, good or bad, there is only the journey and the steps you take.
Just because someone is in charge doesn't mean they know what they're doing.
- Okay, this one I did not learn this year, I've known it for a long time. This year has just re-affirmed it.
A good meal with good friends is worth more than you can imagine.
I need to clean my house more often.
Everyone has their own demons. Don't assume your demons can whup their demons.
If you work on yourself, the rest will work itself out.
You don't always win. But you never stop giving your all.
Love is eternal. It not always demonstrative, but it's always there. And don't you forget it.
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