Look At It Differently
This writing is Certified Human
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney
The Obstacle
There’s lots of things we don’t want to do in life
Obligations
Tasks we agreed to
Chores
Projects
Education
Conversations.
We find ourselves avoiding
Making excuses
Struggling to start
Finding other things to do instead
Putting it off.
It doesn’t go away
We stress because it’s undone
Others are frustrated because we haven’t done it
We add more to it than it needed.
The Gift and Opportunity
We know it’s not going away
So we might as well get started.
Avoiding just makes the monster bigger
Stresses us
Fractures our focus
Relationships strained from the undone.
Our lack of commitment makes it miserable
Struggling to start or finish.
We can reframe by looking for the opportunity
Viewing it from a different angle
Understand what it means to do this for someone else
We can explore the nuances
Get curious about what it is that we don’t know
See like someone who would find it interesting
Embrace the skill or knowledge it will impart
Get creative and find alternate ways of doing the thing
just to take action and get started.
Pour everything we have into it
Without added misery, avoidance, or distraction.
The Practice of Self-Mastery
• Reframe the task
• Explore the opportunity
• Find what is important
• Take action
CHEAT CODE: REFRAME → EXPLORE → UNDERSTAND → ACT
The Why
I didn’t really want to write this today.
It’s the first Monday of summer
The kids are off school
I have a lot going on
And my back hurts…
I’d rather
Sit down and relax.
Go for a walk.
Stretch it out.
Spend some time with the kids.
Finish a game I’m playing with my son.
I wanted to avoid writing this.
I don’t have to do this.
I don’t need to write a journal every day.
But I know journals help me remember what it is that I’m working on.
Get closer to the person I want to be.
I was able to get excited
About exploring my own tendency to avoid.
About sharing my struggle with those who read this.
I find myself at the end of this post happy that I wrote this and didn’t avoid.
That I overcame.
I know this was not the greatest journal I’ve ever written, but it is something.
It was a small step forward for me.
This was useful for me as part of my practice of self-mastery.
Maybe it’s relatable and useful for you too.
