Do you know what got me writing? My friend Si! As I was laying with my huge baby-filled belly on the couch surrounded by my merry celebration buddies counting down to the New Year, when I heard Si begin, and continue, on his quintessential party rant! I can count these moments on two hands; he'll find something he is particularly passionate about and drill it in hard! I absolutely love being a part of these little rants, whether it is directed towards me, or anyone else! This time, he was speaking to my buddy Alphabets, who was dreaming about becoming a writer but just couldn't begin. Here goes Si: "Just start somewhere! You're not going to write your first famed novel after writing for one night! Its the little bits that get you somewhere- that hone your skills, each little minute bit at a time. And so what if your writing never makes it anywhere in the end you'll enjoy each little moment you're writing and you'll have a record of your mind and your words. I say you do it! Stop making excuses and start writing! I want to read your sh"t, I'm sure you can do this. Just start!" Of course, I can't remember exactly what Si said, but for me, this was the gist of what he was saying ala-Alex-ears. To add to the magnificence of these words, it is important to note that Si does not often express his words of encouragement to us as he is usually caught up in his brilliant, "beautiful mind-esque" task of the month and is not relating to other humans for that period of time! So these words stuck with me and rang true. And here I am, taking my first step...to a thousand miles, or perhaps...just the one!
It's wonderful how the human mind works. Cycles of time are so influential when it comes to human perception. When it's the end of the year, humans slow down a bit- people were stopped showing up to my talks; holiday, relax, can't be bothered mode engaged. Now that the New Year has begun, we are all shifting into a higher gear! New ambitions have taken root and motivation has increased for most of us! Continuing on about cycles of time, even when it comes to counseling, there are studies that show that sessions that run beyond an hour stop being as beneficial for the client. We have trained our minds to feel that we can accomplish lots within an hour, so much so that beneficial intervention is perceived to become less productive after that hour is up. Those of you who live in a place that experiences seasons, don't you experience a feeling of change in energy when spring chirps its way to life after a cold, dark winter?
There are so many cycles that we go through as humans that we can use to energize ourselves! At the end of the day, it's about perception. As long as we perceive it to be a moment of energy and motivation, we can create the cycles that we need to motivate ourselves, even if they didn't previously exist. Even if it was mid-month, on no particular day, if I felt that I was becoming negative and whiny, I could label that day my annual day of positive thought & speech! I could give it a personal and cheesy name- Speak Shiny Day! I could decide that I would not allow myself to complain out loud more than 3 times that day. If I managed to transform a complaint with a positive comment, I could 'erase' it so that it would not count as one of three! If I managed to accomplish my mission for Speak Shiny Day I could treat myself to a massage as positive reinforcement!
We have a chance to switch it up and use any moment as the beginning of a cycle- which we already know that our brains love- so whatever we need to work on in our lives, let's DOOOOOO it! Today is my start writing in little drips and drabs day- I'm going to write something every sigle day, even if its only one word on a piece of paper! What day is it for you? :) Let me know what you want to improve upon and I'll write you a challenge!
