If you look into My Documents in my computer or even random papers on my desk, you will find an insanely large collection of quick lists, simple tables and short outlines. You’ll find titles like ”10 Goals for (fill in the blank)” and “3 ways I can fix XXX problem” and “5 Reasons For and Against Going To/Doing XYZ.” Word and Excel are my partners-in-crime.
I’m a big fan of writing things down not because I need a list of things to be done but because I want to gauge what’s going on in my mind. In a way writing things down somehow clears up room in my mind. Because I’m not obligated to remember what I wrote down anymore, suddenly I feel like I have room for newer ideas and thoughts to marinate. Otherwise writing lists is a poor use of my time because I am notoriously horrible at explicitly following them. Lists and outlines aren’t meant to be followed exactly because life is just too dynamic for that; they are simply guidelines and clues.
A lot of times I feel like I’m trapped like a prehistoric insect in amber. Right now is one of those times. Over the past year I’ve become increasingly frustrated with the grand scheme of things in my life but at times I am stumped when it comes to changes I needed to make in order to get myself out of a rut. Of course, my natural reflex is to write a list. So I wrote a list of things that are frustrating me in my life. Some examples include:
- I live too far away from everything for my liking (too far because I hate driving and gas is eating up way too of my pay as it is).
- I have a difficult time using phones.
- I have a difficult time meeting like minded people.
- I’m not happy living in Florida at all.
Of course the list is a little longer than that but I just put that there to prove that I am, in fact, human (a live one at that) and I have my share of issues. If you’re like me, feeling frustrated and not knowing where to turn, maybe you should write a list too. Write down five things in your life that is frustrating you right now. For me, writing that list was incredibly liberating because those negative thoughts were no longer simmering in my mind and sucking up valuable brain power.
Now that I got all (or some) of that dead weight off, I can use my new-found mental energy to think up possible solutions. Sometimes I need a little help, so I read around online a lot or I talk to people closest to me. Once I have some viable solutions in place, I quickly brainstorm ways I implement these solutions.
For instance, I don’t like living in Florida. My solution is to move out. How can I pull it off? Start saving money. Where will I go? I have a two places in mind but I don’t worry about that too hard because I can’t move without money in the first place. How much do I need? As much as I can get. For a couple of months now I simply stopped blowing money on stupid crap and I have been consistently saving nearly 70% of every paycheck I get and so far I have a nice chunk of change. Even though I will probably still be in Florida for another year or so, I feel so much better because I’m making progress towards changing that. I always try to make it as simple as possible because I don’t want to overwhelm myself into a point of interia. Even a little bit of effort can go a long way.
You don’t have to be at work or be starting up a business to do all of this. I’ve said in a previous post that if you’re going to complain about anything you might as well do something about it. Just like in business, the issues in your life will not go away until you face it and set up a simple game plan to overcome them. My methods may not work for you, so learn about what works for you. Learn when and how to drop the dead mental weight. Learn how to channel negativity into creativity into action and make it a habit to do so. The bonus is with each challenge you face you will begin to understand yourself a lot better.
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Related posts:
- Give your worries a can of whoop-ass, Part 2: What’s the worst that could happen?
- Obligatory post in which I babble about authenticity, imperfection, negativity, and then somehow throw Thanksgiving into the mix.
- Why are you bored?
- Finish Line: Completion of the 90-day writing challenge!
- Keeping it to myself (saying no to unnecessary comments)
