It's "Now" Time

I've been thinking about how exactly to start this blog. An introduction? My story? I've been thinking about this for a long time. Probably about six months now. What I've come to is this: Thinking about how to do something doesn't get you any closer to getting what you're thinking about doing, done. What happens after the brilliant idea? Most people, author included,become consumed in other people's perceptions. If they (who, by the way, remain a mystery to me) are going to like it, will they be offended. If you are making an ass of yourself. Say the answers to these questions are no, probably and surely,respectively. Here's the real question: Do you do it anyway? I've not done it, and I can tell you that this route takes you on a wild goose chase, only to discover...rnyou're the goose. That's right. It's you. What you're looking for. Who you're trying to please. The respect you want? Yours. All yours. How often can you say that you're stressed out? More often than you'd like I'm imagining. What's the source of your stress? Family? Career? Relationships?Money? What if I told you that none of those reasons are the source of your stress? If I told you that, you were the source of your stress... ...so I won't tell you that. What I will tell you, is that we all experience reactions to life events. The reactions that uplift us, make us feel great, are anabolic. Likewise, reactions that drain us, tear us down, make us feel like sludge, are catabolic. Take this blog entry. I could say that the time it took preparing to write this blog stressed me out. I could. No doubt, I would garner the empathy of some of you, yes? Is this going to change the situation? No. In addition, I want to change my situation. So let's look at the situation: I'm saying that the time it took preparing to write this blog stressed me out. I'm saying that time, stressed me out. I'm saying that I am a victim of time, as if time has a gun pointed to my head saying "if you don't do the blog..." ...that's exactly how it feels. Nevertheless, we know that time is abstract. Measurable, but not material. Time can't do anything but be, time. Can't take your lunch money. Won't hold your firstborn hostage. You won't soon be receiving an email from time, demanding a ransom for some compromising photographs of you at a college frat party...you get my point. So what's the issue? The issue is that we measure ourselves against an ideal. Call it"right" or "good", we all have some ideal standard for what this is to us. For instance, I like to read. Some of what I read is good. Some not so good. Some bad. As a writer, I measure myself against this ideal, good...bad...and base my decisions on where I feel I place among these standards. It's never good enough. The enough of it all. Whatever this enough is. My self-conversation went something like this: "...yeah, it's okay, but not good enough to...." ... and the list goes. rnThis is the source of stress. An underlying belief of perfection, as it relates to the completion of a goal. Understanding perfection to be the ideal standards Whose? Yours. Mine. rnSo what do you do to change it? This is not about what you think. This is about how you are actively changing your situation. Acknowledge your "enough", your standard (smart, thin, rich) as it relates to your goal. We are not talking about goals with measurable standards here. This is not likely to be as effective, say, if you're"" and your goal is to win the next cycle of America's Next Top Model. I'm speaking about goals that are well within your control. I mean, work it in 6" heels if you can... Now, ask yourself the following three questions, in this order: 1. For what? 2. Says whom? 3. How do you know this to be true? rnThe first question asks you to identify your external goal. What it is that you would like to achieve. Say you want to write a book on bugs,and you don't think that your writing is good enough to sell a book. Your external goal, is to generate income from a book that you write. The second question challenges you to define your ideal. Who is the arbiter of enough? What experience does this person have with your writing that has placed your writing in the not-good-enough-to-sell pile? The third question, challenges you to be honest with yourself about how much effort you have put into achieving your goal. rnWhat proof do you have that your writing is not good enough? Have you done everything that you could have done, to write a bug book good enough to sell? This is the guide. The beginning of knowing who you are, and where you fit into your success. I am grateful for your participation in this process. Take this opportunity to answer these questions for yourself, for your goal. I'm interested to know what you discover! Feel free to share! I'm not sure exactly where it will take you, but it has led me here. Entry. Complete. rnIn Progress, Scheherazade.