I am pursuing my dreams. Life is good!
Yet, I still get frustrated, distracted, and discouraged.
When I am frustrated, distracted, or discouraged, it is difficult to create. Then, I feel bad because I didn’t do what I really wanted to do. Why can't I be more like Spock? It's illogical to waste time.
The truth is, I'm not a Vulcan, and the last thing I need is another reason to feel bad!
Everyone Struggles
The truth is, everyone struggles (except Spock, of course).
The good news is, this is a common problem with many solutions. Here are a few things that have helped me. But I'm still learning.
1. Expect the Curve
There are at least two curves: the learning curve, and the curve ball (the unexpected). Expect both.
In financial matters we always want to have an emergency fund. The wise expect the unexpected. In a similar way, we can budget for days where we just need a break, we get distracted, discouraged, frustrated, or some emergency needs our attention.
For example, if we budget one hour a day (five hours per week) for our creative work, then allocate four hours for productive work, and one hour for the unexpected (zero progress). Adjust the ratio to your experience level. As we gain more tools and experience, we will naturally become more productive.
The key is: Don't let the curve add to your stress! Plan for success and budget for the curve. Both are going to happen.
2. Create Something You Believe In
The best way to be productive is to create something you believe in. Then you will diligently seek ways to stay focused. And if you seek, you will find.
The key is: If you really want something bad enough, you will find a way to get it. More often than not, it is usually ourselves that are in the way.
3. Go Semi-Pro
A skill that all dream builders have to learn is how to work when you don’t feel like it. All dreams, all creative work, anything worthwhile, will be difficult.
When I earned my financial freedom and started my own projects, I had a hard time forcing myself to work when I had an emotional struggle (that includes boredom and distraction).
Initially, losing a few days here and there didn’t bother me. It was only when I started to narrow down my purpose is when I started to feel the pain of lack of progress. Not having anything to show for a whole year of work was the last straw. Ouch!
The key is: adopt the mindset of a professional. Show up every day. Know what the most important thing is. Focus. Finish what you start.
4. Find the Message
Don't waste emotions. Every emotion has a message if we look for it. I keep a list of feelings. For each feeling I describe it in detail. Then, I list one or more ways to address the feeling.
Some of my most common feelings I experience are: frustrated, discouraged, demoralized, falling behind, envy, anxious, lost, angry, agitated, distracted, and boredom.
If we can name our emotion and contemplate the message of the emotion, we have something to work with. We can come up with one or more healthy ways to respond.
The key is: Name the emotion. Contemplate the message. Come up with one or more healthy ways to respond.
5. The Law of Growth
Laws are dependable. Gravity works all the time. We can count on it.
The good news is, growth is a law. If we put forth the effort, we will grow.
There is a learning curve. I have to remind myself of this quite often. I will get better at what I choose to practice every day.
The key is: If we put forth effort, we will grow.
Finally
The good news is, over the years we lose much less time to emotional struggles because we develop the mindset of a pro.
There will never be fewer storms in life. However we can gain skills to discern which storms need our attention and which storms will pass by.
It's challenging to keep a consistent emotional state, but we can get better at it. Each of us have to come up with our own ways to deal with life’s disturbing problems. The key thing to keep in mind is that this is a common problem, and there are healthy solutions.
Live long and prosper.