So What Does It Look Like?

Wrapping up the week here, and I want to share something with you that I’ve started doing this week that I think has positively affected my outlook, no matter how kooky it sounds.

I have this little barrel chair in my studio. It was given to me by my grandmother years ago. I remember spinning around and around on it in her house until they had to put a wooden block on the track to get me to stop. I’ve recovered it, and today it’s my reading/thinking/sulking chair. I sit down in this chair at the beginning of every day, and I’ve been giving some thought to the endgame. What does the endgame look like? What is my ideal result? There’s really nothing new about this. It’s called creative visualization. Shakti Gawain wrote a book about this years ago, and it’s “the art of using mental imagery and affirmation to produce positive changes in your life. It is successfully used in the fields of health, business, creative arts, and sports, and in fact, can have an impact in every area of your life.” Of course, back in my younger and angrier days, something like this would have been met with a roll of the eyes. I really can’t do that anymore because the simple act of visualizing what the end of this looks like every morning for just five minutes or so has changed my outlook on things. I feel better about rolling this rock up the hill every day. I’m doing good work here. I’m expressing myself creatively, I’m finding material relevant to the things I like talking about, I’m spending less time on the things I don’t want to spend time on, and at the end of the day, the work is getting done. I’m still spending only about an hour a day on this work, and as of right now, I’m a week ahead of schedule and still going. More to the point, I have fun because I’m literally creating something every day right now, and it does wonders for my morale. It all starts with just sitting in that beloved chair every day and thinking every day that I’m going to win. I’m going to get what I want out of this work, this time, this life.

Now, I haven’t gotten so far as to see the beach in my backyard, but give me a couple of months on that. Let’s see how this goes for a minute before I get ahead of myself.

I’d like you to give this a try. There’s no chanting, no mantras, no sitting cross-legged on a mat and contemplating your belly button, think to yourself, “What does the end of this look like to me?” What does success look like to you? Maybe, once you sort that out and see it every day, and you know what step you’re on now, maybe the steps in the middle become clearer. It certainly couldn’t hurt.

Cut Yourself a Break

Of course, it’s easy to get stuck. We all do. I certainly have. But that’s where “What’s Next?” comes into play. It’s the act of leaning into what’s causing you the trouble. You identify it, and you work to resolve it. That’s not just helpful in the creative arena, you know. Indeed, nothing hard ever gets better unless you commit to this. Otherwise, you’re spinning your wheels, and nothing gets done.

There will be times when you’re going to fail, though, so let me pass on this piece of wisdom gained from years of doing the exact opposite: Cut yourself a break. No home-run king ever hit it out of the park every time, don’t kid yourself. Perfectionism is a fast track to a permanent failure, which is just giving up. Don’t get discouraged. Just take a beat. Show yourself some compassion, relax, and lean back in when you’re ready.

Finally, don’t be a battering ram. That’s a good way to give yourself a headache. If it doesn’t work today, it might work tomorrow. Put it away for the day and try again tomorrow. Most importantly, don’t beat yourself up for the days you missed. Celebrate the days you succeeded because that will help you tomorrow when you go at it again.