Changing Behavior vs Changing Who You Are
Photo by Lynn M Reid
I was talking with a friend recently and they mentioned I can be brooding. First, I had to look up the word to make sure I understood what they were saying. The only time I’ve heard the word used is with regards to teenage vampire movies. I googled the definition and my heart stopped.
Showing deep unhappiness of thought
Their assessment was spot on. Others have made similar assessments. I see the glass half-empty. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I can see the 50 different ways an event will fail. Read more
Maybe
- Maybe I’ll get that job.
- Maybe this relationship will work out.
- Maybe I’ll find some peace.
Photo by nielssienaert
Maybe. The deadliest word in the English language. The word we use when we don’t want to say yes or no. Maybe is a word that has no commitment behind it. It is a word of inactivity.
Some friends and I were talking about our goals and what we wanted to do. I mentioned that I might end up working overseas or I might move out west. Indecision. The question begs asking. What have I done to remove maybe from this decision? How many trips have I made to the places I would like to work? How many people have I sought out that are doing the work I want to do? If I haven’t done the hard work of removing the maybe, then I shouldn’t complain when I’m stuck in the middle of it. Read more
Shouting into the Void
Over the last six years, I have had spurts of writing. I might write for a couple of weeks and eventually I stop. There are a host of reasons for this but one constant is I feel I’m shouting into the void. No matter what any artist or craftsman tells you, they want someone to appreciate their work. It may not be the motivating factor but it’s always there.
I’m not looking for fame and fortune. I write because it helps me process my ideas. It gives me clarity. But I also want to know that the things I write make a difference. Maybe I encourage someone to try something new. Perhaps I bring a smile to their face. I don’t want my words to collect dust on a shelf somewhere. I want people to interact with them; to tell me I’m off my rocker if they think so. Read more
Taking Responsibility as a Creative
I read Michael Hyatt’s post today on how successful creatives think. One of his points was “successful creatives take responsibility.” He went on to say that the successful creative has to “accept responsibility for how [their work] is received by the market.” I’ve not written a book or created an album, but I do write code for my employer. They need something done and I code it.
I have seen internal projects falter and never get used and others have been successful. I could point fingers at different people. Some of the blame could legitimately be placed on others. But I have to realize that I have to shoulder some of the blame. I come up against users not fully knowing what they need. Other times the users are resistant to change. They are given a tool they don’t want to use but mandated by leadership to use it. Read more
Dragon Slayers
I was having dinner with a friend about six months ago. We worked together several years ago. We discussed our work situations and where we saw ourselves going in the future. I shared some of my frustrations at work and he made an interesting observation. He said that we were both dragon slayers. We see a problem, we solve it and then we move on to the next dragon.
So that idea has been percolating in my mind since then. I settled on the idea of a medieval dragon slayer stuck in the cubicle, corporate structure of today’s marketplace. Read more
Analog Artistry & Memories of my Grandmother
Over the last few months I have been wanting to get back into more analog hobbies. Growing up, both of my parents were weavers and we would go to the occassional fair and show off our work. I remember one time when we were living in Illinois, they let me demonstrate and I had a newspaper reporter asking me questions for his article. My dad did some woodworking when he had the time. My mother also did needlepoint and quilting.
I enjoyed weaving but I have never had the patience for stringing a loom. So recently, I have been trying to think of a way to make a modified Navajo loom that could be strung quickly but also have the advantages of treadles, the pedals or levers that separate the threads. I haven’t worked out all the ideas and I’ve been wanting to start on something. Then the other night I was over at a friend’s apartment and she pulled out a blanket she was crocheting. That got me thinking. My grandmother used to crochet. I tried to have her teach me a couple of times but I just never got it. Despite my previous failures, I figured with YouTube I could learn this time around. Read more
Positive & Negative Perception
I ran a new route this morning. Most of it runs parallel to a set of railroad tracks. On my return trip, a train was coming at me from the opposite direction. My brain made the assessment that I was running at roughly 5mph and the train was moving at probably 30mph. Intellectually, my brain understood this. Then it began recomputing my perception of this speeding train. My first thought was, “I’m going slower.” I knew I wasn’t and I didn’t actually feel like I was. I just knew that I could perceive the situation that way. And if I thought about it long enough, I might actually start to slow down. As I focused on not slowing down, I realized there was an equally valid perception. I could have thought I was going faster. I began to wonder why my mind would jump to the negative perception almost instinctively.
I don’t have any words of wisdom right now. I’d like to see what kind of conversation can be started from this.
So you Enjoy this Writing Thing?
Photo by Better Than Bacon
I read Mindy Holahan’s newest article, Becoming an Accidental Creative: Building Relationships, this morning. She discusses the need for a support group of creatives that wrestles with the same creative issues you do. Your friends and families can be supportive but they may not completely understand where you want to go creatively. Two separate incidents from the past week have reinforced the idea that I need to take more risks and find a support group that fits.
Saturday evening I was talking with an acquaintance about a story I’m working on. I was describing some of the plot and my reasons behind wanting to write it. Later I was sharing my excitement that Todd Henry had commented on my article about discipline. It was during this second exchange that she asked a question that made me stop. “So it sounds like you enjoy this writing thing?” I thought about that the rest of the evening. I do enjoy writing. So hopefully her question will spur me to find my own support group that will provide that continual encouragement. Read more
Ambassadors that Get in the Way
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,” the apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth.
Ambassadors are chosen and sent to places with different languages and cultures. They are not residents, but are visitors in a foreign land. Some serve in places that are hard and the people hate the ambassador’s home country.
There are differences between terrestrial ambassadors and Christ’s ambassadors. Both are chosen, but as Christ’s ambassadors we cannot turn down an appointment. We are called to places regardless of whether our country has an embassy there. But even in our own country we are called to hard areas to be ambassadors. It might be the inner city, the suburbs, apartment complexes or even the country-side. Read more
Discipline as a Routine
I can’t put my finger on it, but through a confluence of events, I’ve found more discipline to write lately. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lazy streak, but I’m getting better. I started dissecting what happened but I couldn’t settle on any concrete reasons. Then I came across two posts this morning. One was by Chris Brogan titled Discipline and the other was by Mindy Holahan over at the Accidental Creative entitled Cultivating Deliberate Focus. These posts summarize what has been transpiring in my life. But first, let’s look at what has helped get me to this point.
One thing I started doing recently was listening to the Back to Work podcast by Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin. Merlin is all over the map during their talks but he comes up with some nuggets of truth. Sometimes he turns into the Merlin that yells at people, nicknamed “Mean Merlin.” That’s the Merlin that resonates with me most often. “Mean Merlin” will often tell you to shut up and do the thing you’re scared of. Don’t think about all the ways things might go wrong. Shut off the TV and Facebook. Stop with all the productivity hacks. Stop complaining about how you wish you had time to do the thing you want to do. Shut up and do something. Another great Merlin quote is “No one’s going to eat you.” We can think of so many things that could go wrong. All these doomsday scenarios keep us from doing what we want to do. What’s the worst that could happen. I’m not going to die if I try and write a book. I just need to shut up and do something. Read more
