Are you going through the motions or growing through your motions?
There will certainly be tough days where in pursuit of your passion project, you just go through the motions. And doing that is far better than doing nothing at all.
But overall you should be growing, improving, getting closer to your goal.
If not, it’s time to iterate those motions.
“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” -Stephen Covey
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” -Anne Dillard
Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.
What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it,
your position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
you will always keep your balance. -Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” -Peter Drucker
Before deciding which wall you need to lean your ladder up against, first decide if you even need to climb the ladder at all.
I just overheard a conversation between a security guard and an elderly person in an office building. The guard was helping her with some packages and holding the elevator for her.
He said as she got in:
“You know what today is?”
She replied:
“Tuesday?”
To which he said:
“It’s Thankful Tuesday. You have to be thankful for everything. Thankful for the little things.”
She smiled and the elevator closed.
I thought that was worth sharing. And I am thankful today for that nice security guard and his words of wisdom.
What are you thankful for?
P.S. – And for those of you who choose to celebrate, it’s also Taco Tuesday! While you’re eating your delicious taco, you can be thankful for it.
“There is no path to greatness without hard work. And the only person who feels like working hard for years is someone who is excited about the task. You only get one life and you’re going to burn the days either way, so the real question is: What excites you and interests you? What makes you feel curious and alive, perhaps even joyful? What is so “worth it” that you’re not worried about the tradeoffs, the hard work, the hassle? Follow your enthusiasm.” -James Clear
“Discipline can get you through bad days, but if it’s getting you through months, you’re going to burn out.” -Shane Parrish
“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Every memorable act in the history of the world is a triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great was ever achieved without it because it gives any challenge or any occupation, no matter how frightening or difficult, a new meaning. Without enthusiasm you are doomed to a life of mediocrity, but with it you can accomplish miracles.” -Og Mandino
All you really need to be happy is something to be enthusiastic about. If you have it, cherish it. For it’s worth more than all the gold in the world.
If you don’t, keep looking. You’ll find it. (And while you’re looking, be enthusiastic for someone else. Your enthusiasm for their passion is also priceless.)
“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.” -Epictetus
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” -Serenity Prayer
Do you want to improve the world?
I don’t think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can’t be improved.
If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it.
The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle. -excerpt from Verse 29, “Tai Te Ching” by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)
The only way to gain control is to lose control.
And if you’re at all worried about letting go, realize that you’ve never really been in control. You just were foolish to think you were. Enlightenment just means waking up to this. Carry on.
“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.” -Elizabeth Gilbert
“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” -John Wooden
“I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it over to future generations.” -George Bernard Shaw
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The best you can is good enough -song “Optimistic” by Radiohead
“You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; You shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.” -Psalm 128: 1-2
You won’t find happiness (or inner peace or joy) by seeking those things out directly.
Instead seek out personal effort. Strive to do your best towards something you care deeply about.
When you do, happiness and joy and peace and all other good fruits will flow your way.
“We must all do theatre, to find out who we are, and to discover who we could become.” -Augusto Boal
“The theatre is a place where one has time for the problems of people to whom one would show the door if they came to one’s office for a job.” -Tennessee Williams
“I regard the theater as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” -Thornton Wilder
If you’re trepidatious about therapy, why not try theatre.
It just might be the greatest therapy in the world.
P.S. – Thanks Suse for inspiring this post on yesterday’s Vs. “Bring Your Art” Night.
“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” -Seneca
“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” -Mark Twain
“All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured,” -Tove Jansson
“This is the paradox we live with: We crave certainty, only to discover over and over that it is a mirage, that the love of life is rooted in the courage of uncertainty — because certainty doesn’t allow for surprise, but everything we know of life is the product of the wildest bet that prevailed against the odds of otherwise so we may exist; because certainty thrives on clear category and neat classification, but the most meaningful experiences we have inhabit the liminal spaces between the common categories of what we can name.” -Maria Popova
One way to deal with uncertainty is to fully embrace it with all your heart. Lean into it. Love it.
And if you need support for your decision to lean in, just remember, you’ve survived every single thing you thought you couldn’t handle up until this point.
You’re still here.
Why would the next hard or uncertain thing be any different?
Taste is talent. And like any talent, you need to develop it.
How to do this?
First, figure out what art you really love and why. What about it really speaks to you? What moves you? Perhaps keep a simple “artistic journal” where you can write down your thoughts about the art you just consumed.
Then, after you’ve compiled your thoughts, share your love for that art. You can write a blog or social media post about it, or even just call a couple of friends and tell them about it. In the process, be prepared for some people to disagree with you. Great! This is a gift. Get curious with their reasons. See if your perspective deepens or changes. Actively seek out more criticism. Read reviews. But do it all after you’ve already shared your original opinion about the art.
Do this over and over again and your taste will develop.
(P.S. – By sharing your love of the art, you’re also doing a very generous thing for the artist(s). Word of mouth is the most valuable marketing and is needed now more than ever.)
“We need to ask for help, ask for the sale, ask for introductions, and the list goes on and on, and it’s very possible that the idea of asking my give you some anxiety…It’s easy to see our asks as an inconvenience to someone else, especially if someone asked something of us that felt like an inconvenience, but most of the time the people in our lives are happy to help us and don’t see us as a bother at all. I’d even posit that if you’re worried about being a bother, you’re probably not a bother at all because the people who really bother you never give the idea of bothering you a second thought. So take some time to look at whether or not you’re worrying needlessly and get that ask out the door.” -Michael Roderick
“There are a million reasons why people don’t ask for what they want. It’s uncomfortable, or they don’t want to be seen as a burden, or they’re afraid of rejection. The list goes on. But I think the biggest reason is that asking means you might find information you don’t like…When you make the ask, you risk learning that your imaginary version isn’t real. And most people would rather hold on to a fantasy than test it out to see if it’s true.” -Justin Welsh
“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.” -Tim Ferriss
Once you really know what you want and why you want it, chances are that you’re going to need to ask a lot of people for help.
Asking is never easy, but it is necessary. Some tips that might aid your asking:
(1) Be clear and specific with your ask. Know exactly how the person can help you or your cause.
(2) Ask now. Don’t wait. And don’t worry if you haven’t done some certain number of favors for that person person. There’s no magic reciprocity number that you have to hit before you make the ask. Ask now.
(3) Remind yourself that most people want to help. Including you! There’s actually a chemical release of endorphins when we do good things for others. (Interestingly enough, we don’t get that same endorphin release from asking. Which might explain why we don’t ask.)
(4) Detach from the result of your ask. The ask itself is the win. If the person doesn’t get back to you or can’t help, no sweat. Don’t take it personally and don’t hold it against them. Have empathy for people’s time and circumstances.
(5) It’s a numbers game. You’re gonna have to make a lot of asks. (Which might help you with number four.)
(6) If you’re in a position to help someone else, please help them.
Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. The result you’re looking for could be one ask away. How tragic if you’re too afraid to ask for it.
P.S. – This post from Justin Welsh.
The Vs. Studio Blog