It’s time to start making time for the things that really matter to you.
No more excuses.
Writing that novel.
Going camping for a week.
Building that cabin.
Starting that podcast.
Climbing that mountain.
Travelling America in a van.
Writing that children’s book.
I know you’ve had these thoughts. I’ve had many of them, too.
That’s your inner genius speaking to you. It knows what’s best.
Not your grumpy neighbour, Sally.
Not your cynical friend, Martin.
Your true intelligence.
BUT, when you have these thoughts…
They are often accompanied by a pang of guilt that gets quickly smothered by your ‘rational’ self-chat that says:
I can’t do that right now. I have life to tend to. Doing this wouldn’t work. It would be reckless and irresponsible. Nah, I’m not ready yet…
So a few more weeks go by before that vision returns.
And you just keep kicking the can down the road.
Replacing the important with the seemingly urgent.
And YES, these things are important. That’s why they continue to reappear for you.
They give you vision and direction, and something to get excited about, and something to improve your skills in preparation for.
Because life really is short, and you do not want to find yourself physically incapable (or dead).
Here’s the thing, and it needs to settle into your mind right now:
There will always be a fantastic reason to avoid doing any of these things.
Because when you do not make one of these visions more concrete by committing time to making them work, making them an absolute no-brainer, non-negotiable MUST do in your life…
They will not happen.
Your time will be replaced by the defaults of working on the more obvious, seemingly safer, seemingly more urgent matters.
Like replying to emails.
Or cleaning under the bathroom sink.
So, my message to you (and I am totally speaking to myself here):
Brainstorm what you think would be really, really cool to do.
Do not filter or censor here. Do not hold back. Add everything that comes to mind, whether you’re capable right now of doing that thing or not.
Write down everything you’ve always wanted to do, or consider super awesome and interesting.
Next, pick one that you could feasibly focus on with the intention of making happen within the next year or two. Choose the thing that makes your heart skip a little. The thing that makes your gut tingle. That’s the thing.
Next, write down all the reasons you must do this thing. Journal on it. Think about why this means so much to you, why your life will improve by committing to it. Also, write down all the fears you have about this thing, and now challenge those fears. Are those fears really true? You will find the nerves break down when you bring a rational mind to them.
Commit: Either mark this thing on that calendar and commit to doing it (for the simpler goals, like a week of camping) OR: Carve out a time each day when you will work on this one thing.
What has your inner intelligence been nudging you toward?
Go there.
If one of those visions is you becoming a writer, you might like my Online Writing Alchemy course.
The course shows you how to write things that make people want to email you, thanking you because you connected with them deeply.
It reveals the 16 secrets I learned over 15 years of writing online articles and books.
Alex
Great post