Question from a reader --
Sebastian,Off the bat I wanted to say you have a very useful website. Thank you for that.
I want to change my life for the better, and I have put effort into it, and still am. My problem is I take on to much at once, and with all that clutter and confusion I feel I am back where I started. I could make a list of 1,000 things I want to learn, and 100 habits I want to have. But when it comes down to it, if its not an external change [Habits like flossing I've built] then I lose track. Confidence, better control of fear, productivity, knowing what I want, are all things that don't seem to build.
I'm a bit off track. There's a lot I want to ask but I'll ask this.
Being a huge hip-hop fan, what I love is being able to portray your mind, feelings, and topics onto a page with words, and too, words that rhyme. What advice do you have to help me with doing this? I know you're not a rapper, but when I do write, I look back at disgust or thing 'There's no way that came out right'.
It may not be the best thing to practice with school, personal problems, and work around me. But it's a step forward.
Your avid reader,
A
Three thoughts --
1. You could try planning in blocks of three months, with like 4-5 core objectives MAX for those three months. If you made even 2 or 3 really big stable changes over the next 3 months, how much would that change your life? Quite a bit, right? You don't need 1000 changes. 2-3 fantastic changes that stick can make all the difference.
2. There's only one way to succeed at something like that -- rapping, comedy, writing, anything. And that's to write every day with no exceptions. Block out either a set amount of time (one or two hours) early in the day, or write down a minimum of words you'll write. And then write. That's not magic, but it is magic. It's the answer you're looking for.
3. Stop beating yourself up. 90% of everyone's work sucks. Producing sucky work is something to be proud of, because it's the answer to producing great work. Disgust is totally counterproductive, it's like kicking a dog because it tried to do a trick and did it poorly. Stop kicking yourself for doing the right thing and having the output be imperfect. 90%+ of your output -- for the rest of your life -- will be crap. Just accept it and make a lot of stuff.
Hope that helps,
SM