Before you make the choice to fix something, ask yourself if the thing is worth fixing in the first place.
Nobody wants to spend their time, energy and possibly money on something that could end up being a waste of time. As much as some things are worth sticking at and working on, sometimes the best thing to do is put it aside and start over.
Outside of all the things you’re obligated or committed to do, how much time do you spend on your interests?
It’s easy to be dedicated to your career because doing so often comes with rewards like praise, promotions and a pay rise. It’s easy to spend time on your ‘side hustle’ because doing so will hopefully bring it closer to being your main hustle.
But when it comes to your interests like neoplasticism, poetry and hand embroidery sometimes it can feel difficult to make the time when you don’t directly get anything back from it.
As much as your interests bring you great joy, they don’t don’t always come with specific tanigble rewards. And so if you find that you’re not making time for them, you may need to remind yourself why were interested in them the first place.
The way that things are right now, probably isn’t how they used to be.
I think it’s important to acknowledge when things have changed.
Something that was good 2 years ago might not be so good anymore. And so there is not much use to clinging on to the way that things were because they are that way no longer.
Instead, take things for what they are right now, in the present moment.
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are all so heavily integrated into our daily lives that to be without them (even just for a few hours) is difficult.
Suddenly, you’re having to figure out what to do with your time instead of spending it scrolling.
Conversations that have been going for days or even weeks have now come to a standstill but you still have so much to say.
And now, you have no idea what the the people you are connected to online are doing, eating or wearing.
Somehow all of this stuff seems important yet at the same time, when those 3 apps went down on Monday 4th October 2021 you also realised that none of matters as much as you often think it does.
How you feel about something one day, might be totally different to how you feel a few months from now.
It could be about food, a tv show or a hobby.
Maybe you grew up reading a lot of fiction and you were the sort of person who felt like non-fiction wasn’t for you. You may have even felt like it was boring or that you could never be immersed in non-fiction in the same way that fictional stories managed to capture, engage and entertain you.
Then, suddenly somewhere along the way, you have a change of heart. Maybe it just took one good non-fiction book but maybe it happened bit by bit. Either way, you no longer see things the way you used to.
…and when to fold ’em.
I know next to nothing about Poker but I love this phrase.
When you have the choice to either stick with something and hope for the best or to bow out and move on, it can be difficult. Sometimes we end up believing that we should stick with things until we’ve ‘fixed’ them. Or we tell ourselves that we should keep going even when it’s clear that things aren’t working well.
We think we’re doing the right thing when really we’re just making ourselves a little bit more miserable as days go by.
In contrast, walking away sounds too much like we’re giving up, that’s the reason we won’t do it.
And like that phrase goes, better the devil you know. There’s always this fear of walking away and ending up in a situation that leaves you worse off than when you started.
But that outlook is so bleak and unhelpful, perhaps it is seen as realism. However, it’s always important to consider that things might not get worse, they might actually get better.
Sometimes you need a few words of encouragement to get started. maybe you’re afraid and keep putting things off because you think it will be much eaiser to do it later.
Instead you find that the longer you wait, the less you feel ready to begin.
You make excuses like it’s not the right time, you’re not good enough or that you need to spend more time planning and preparing. And it’s okay to need more time but it’s not much use without having a deadline for when you will begin. You could end up planning for the next 10 months.
You have to start changing the way you think about things, it’s rare that anything needs to be perfect before you begin putting it out for people. It could be blog posts, YouTube videos, a podcast or a bunch of other stuff.
The right time is now so don’t put off starting any longer.
All you have to do is focus on each single post, one by one, day by day and suddenly you’ll hit 100, 250, 500, 1000 and then 1001.
If you miss a day or 2, you need to be willing to make it up to avoid falling behind so far that you’re unable to catch up. You have to be willing to commit and to write when it feels difficult, not just when it feels easy.
It’ll take a few months short of 3 years which seems like a long time but looking back, it’ll fly by.
Little problems can suddenly become big problems.
It is so important to address things in the moment instead of brushing them off, waiting or saying nothing.
When you do this you’ll find that days, weeks or even months later you’re bringing stuff up that were (according to the other person) not an issue when they happened. And this can then make you seem disingenuous because you pretended that everything was okay instead of raising the issue in the moment.
I think it’s important to be clear about what you do and don’t accept. And then practice voicing that to the people around you so that they are aware of what you’re not okay with.
That way, you never have to let things pile up because that person is already aware. Sometimes we tell ourselves that by saying nothing we are avoiding confrontation or protecting the other persons feelings from getting hurt. However, more often than not we just end up causing ourselves more issues.
Sometimes all it takes is to tune into a random passing thought.
Perhaps there is something that has been on your mind for a while or maybe it’s something that you’d totally forgotten about. Either way, you’ll get a thought that serves as a call to action that gives you an idea of what to do next or how to progress with something.
Often, when we feel stuck or we’re not sure what changes we need to make, we think we need to brainstorm, plan and come up with ideas.
We unknowingly try to force something because we feel like we need to know now and that to wait is to waste time.
But your mind is rarely clear when you’re trying to rush something, it’s actually more beneficial to slow down and patient.
Then all of a sudden, something will come to you and you’ll know exactly what you need to do next.
