Struggling to write

After a week or so of struggling to write I got my flow back, the words began to pour.

I began to think about how difficult it had been to post everyday that previous week, until I caught myself and realised why I hadn’t been able to write as easily.

I’d stopped writing.

In that week or so of struggling to write I’d gotten caught up in being busy and I chose to do other things with my time instead of write. And so I suppose I created this story in my head about struggling to write because it was easier than admitting the truth.

Plus, at times it’s almost cool to have ‘writers block’ just so you can shout about when it’s over.

Checking in with your dream life

When was the last time you checked in with your dream life.

As in checked to see if you’re moving any closer to the things you want or say you want from life.

More importantly, do you know what you need to do in order to get there?

It could be learning a skill, saving money or building your confidence.

If you’re not making the effort to do what needs to be done then you can’t be disappointed when things don’t magically falling into place.

Something that I believe to be a dream life misconception is that things will happen by themselves. As though you’ll be going about your usual routine and someone will appear ready to change your life. Sure that’s what happened to Cinderella but that doesn’t mean it’ll happen to you too.

Poetry in progress

The sound of the music,
The touch of your skin,
Yet I still feel hesitant,
To just let you in.

I originally planned to share a full poem today. The above is part of a poem I started just under a week ago. I have 3 other verses but none of them feel quite done yet.

I need to remove words, change words and say it out loud to ensure it flows in the way that I like.

I love writing poetry. It might be simple and incredibly amateur but it’s also a true labour of love.

Like a lot of the writing I do, my poems capture moments, experiences and thoughts. I look back on old poems like photographs.

I don’t write poems very often but it’s refreshing to sometimes do something a little different.

Building habits

I’ve recently developed a new habit that I’d previously had difficulty implementing.

When I initially tried to add this habit to my life, I kept falling flat. I wasn’t doing it as often as I wanted and my commitment to it was half-hearted.

After a short while I gave up on the habit because it clearly wasn’t working. In hindsight I can see that the problem was my approach but I didn’t realise it at the time.

Despite this I still held the intention of the thing I wanted to become a habit but I’d stopped trying.

Weeks later whilst lost in thought I realised that I’d unknowingly implemented the habit I’d previously been working towards. I think it happened because the intention was in my subconscious.

Granted at the time, I was only less than 2 weeks into the habit so it was more of a practice but I couldn’t help but notice that things felt so much easier.

What to do if your manager isn’t helpful

You might feel frustrated but all is not lost.

In a previous post I wrote about job satisfaction and I thought it might be useful to delve into some practical tips. It’s all good and well telling someone what to do but it’s sometimes helpful to tell them how.

So, let’s say you work in an office and your manager is not much help with anything that you need help with. It could be about the work you do or maybe even career progression etc.

What do you do?

It probably gets frustrating but it’s always useful to remember that you always have options.

First up, ask for what you want/need?

Ask confidently, ask a second time.

Don’t be afraid to call people out (politely) when they don’t follow through after assuring you that they’d do xyz.

If you feel like it’s not working, ask someone else.

Chances are even though a manager is their as a main point of call, there’ll be someone else that can help you and someone else that will.

Lastly don’t expect too much from people.

Yes, ask for help when you need it but don’t be reliant on others to drive your ship, they have their own stuff to do too.

Advice from your past self

Do you remember when you were your most confident self?

Common advice in challenging situations when we’re afraid is to ask ‘what would [insert name of inspirational person] do?’

I think that’s a really helpful tool but it can also just emphasise the gap between where you’re at and where you want to be instead of bridging it.

So, what if you consult your past self at peak confidence instead. If you were confidence once you can be confident again.

When you find yourself facing a challenge think of a time you were confident or did something difficult in the past. Close your eyes, visualise it, feel that feeling and keep it with you for when you need it.

Maybe it’s the memory of the solo you did in a school play that you can apply to leading your first client meeting.

When you’re caught in fear or your confidence is low it can be easy to forget that you once felt otherwise and that it’s possible to overcome that thing that scares you and feel confident again.

2 kinds of complainers

Which one are you?

The first kind is the one we all know and love (or perhaps just tolerate through excessive eye rolls). This person is problem focused. They find a problem with anything and everything.

What’s worse is if you offer a potential solution they’ll probably find a problem with that too.

The second person is solution focused. They’ll complain as a way to vent their frustrations but then they’ll move on and do something about it.

The first person never manages to progress nearly as much as the second.