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Your Life Sucks. Your Life Rocks.
Take a Grinding Halt and Assess What the Hell You're Doing
I’m an organized guy. I’ve got a white-board, markers, post-it notes, a Palm Treo, push-pins, a copy of The Four Hour Work Week, and no social life. (All right, I’m kidding about that last one. I have a great social life. In fact, I went to dinner with my mom last night. So there.)
Much of what I’m currently doing (writing for magazines , training clients, finishing a book) are the direct result of hard-thinking, prioritizing, and getting what’s in my head onto paper.
Sometimes, though, I tend to over-analyze everything and fall into what’s called analysis paralysis.
This is when I feel it prudent to focus on all the negative stuff and get so confused and in a rush that I start to feel like a dog that tirelessly chases the red dot cast on the wall by a laser pointer.
But last night I think I may have finally found a way to get my thoughts down without feeling overwhelmed. I call it the “This rocks; this sucks; this is what I’m going to do about it†technique. (I should probably call it something simpler, but stick with me.)
Here’s an example list which I’ll explain it in a minute:
This rocks:
1. I am not dead
2. I do not live in Ethiopia
3. I write for prestigious national magazines
4. I have clients who I like and who pay my salary
Why this rocks:
1. I can not do things if I’m dead
2. I don’t have to shovel gruel into my distended stomach
3. I can call Sean Hyson when I’m out and have him convince girls I’m cool.
4. I’m not starving! And I don’t have to beat my clients with a dumbbell.
This sucks:
1. Personal debt and low credit score (playing catch-up)
2. I’m in a three-year business contract until September of 2010
3. Lack of social life
4. Feeling confused, erratic and out of control
Why this sucks:
1. Banks will castrate me with a butter knife.
2. I’m confined to one spot for at least that long
3. Low-grade anxiety and getting stuck in my head
4. Self-explanatory. Fuck.
This is what I’m going to do about it:
1. I will use the advance from my book to wipe out my debt and will then take out a low-interest loan for $2,000 and pay back every month to build better credit.
2. I will either buy-out my partner, or make the business extremely profitable and low-hassle to where traveling is an option.
3. I will go to two different cafés on the weekends and will make Sunday my “get out†day where I’ll head to bookstores, cool shops, and pubs. I’ll take people up on their offers to go out.
4. I will perform this analysis every two weeks to check on progress and write down any new goals or frustrations.
(Note: I’d then break up each one of these goals into measurable, actionable steps.)
Why is it set up this way? For starters, I find that if I focus on a few good things (in a non-Secret, corny type of way) I can keep my perspective and feel grateful for what I do have. That’s why those qualities are listed first.
Secondly, I list the “bad†things and associate a feeling or later-event that wouldn’t be too fun if they stayed that way. (Getting castrated with a butter knife comes to mind.)
Third, and this is the most important, I think of action steps I can take to reduce and eliminate my “bad†stuff.
Give it a try yourself and see what you think. And if you have any other creative strategies for keeping yourself focused, sane, and progressive, let me know.
I’ll try this out for a few months and report back.
Comments for This Entry
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Yeah, I really like this. Could be helpful for me since adjusting to college life and getting used to going to classes for another 3 years isn't exactly the easiest thing to do, especially when you aren't very organized. Thanks for the help.
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I've been doing something similar for as long as I can remember, and I always found it to be rewarding.
If I feel overwhelmed or unfocused I write out every single thing that I can imagine that causes me to worry. Every problem, obstacle, asshole, debt, etc. I get creative and really wrack my brain trying to figure out what is nagging in the back of my consciousness.
Just the act of writing this stuff down is a way of actively confronting it, and there is some satisfaction in that. I'm often surprised by how insignificant my worries are when I get them all out there.
I heard once that "If you have a problem, and there is a solution, then you have no reason to worry. And if you have a problem, and there is no solution, then you have no reason to worry." I believe it was attributed to Buddhism.
Anyhoo, that holds true for me. The problems you've got that have solutions will all be dealt with in due time, because you are a person of strength and will make decisions accordingly when the time comes. The stuff that can't be affected? It will work itself out. Why stress over what you can't change?
At the same time I always maintain a list in the back of a notebook somewhere with a list of my long-term goals. I think in terms of one, five, ten or fifteen years. Like building my own house in the desert outside Moab or surfing in Costa Rica. Not what I want on my burrito tomorrow for lunch or what kind of cable package to get.
Every day I try to find some way of working towards at least one of those goals. Each day that I accomplish this, I consider a victory.
I find it reassuring sometimes to look back and see that my goals haven't changed much over the years.
COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
John G. 8:15pm Mar 31, 2008