What if despair isn’t a “bad” thing?
What if it is rather simply an invitation into a new conversation.
A conversation beyond the judgment of it and the thinking of “I shouldn’t be in despair.”
A conversation that reveals that you actually care enough about something to be in despair about it.
How.
About.
That?
So what if you stopped judging your despair and just let it be. Get some perspective from those around you. And keep yourself open to what is being revealed in it.
Have you ever thought about this: When we resist clarity, it reveals that we don’t believe in ourselves.
Living with confusion, resisting what it takes to move beyond confusion, choosing to be confused.
Is it possible that all of these scenarios reveal that we don’t believe in ourselves to put in the mental labor necessary to get clear so that we can be clear about what we are up to and subsequently throw ourselves fully into it.
What if choosing to be confused is simply a convenient way to hide from going “all in.”
And so, each day, I just dip my toe in. Day after day.
Instead of leaping headlong into the things I truly long for most. (And perhaps grabbing some others to jump with me).
And then, we wondered why we are frustrated, depressed, angry, bored, confused, apathetic, etc.
If you are there — stuck, confused, etc. You don’t have to stay there. Sometimes the first step is to realize you have chosen to be there.
Which means you can choose something new.
Today.
From “Do the Work” by Steven Pressfield:
At least twice a week, I pause in the rush of work and have a meeting with myself. (If I were part of a team, I’d call a team meeting.) I ask myself, again, of the project; “What is this damn thing about?”
Do you know why you are doing what you are doing today?
What is the desired end result?
What is it about?
If you want to lead a successful and fulfilling life that makes a committed impact, I can guarantee you this:
There is a mental labor threshold you will get to cross.
That moment you are writing out your vision and you want to quit.
The moment you don’t know where to start and you have to choose if you will start anyways.
The moment you know you need to write about something and you can’t seem to put the pen to the page.
The moment you long to risk yet can’t seem to conjure up the courage.
Either you will cross it and push through, or you will find yourself obsessed with the easy side of the threshold – jealous of those who chose to take another step.
Is focus something I choose? Or is it something I must be born with?
What do you think?
Gallups Strenthsfinder has one of their “talents” as “focus.” And I have seen some people who seem to naturally have incredible focus.
But, my question is this: Am I justified in not having focus based on whether or not it comes naturally?
I don’t think so.
I definitely wouldn’t describe myself as a person who naturally has focus. Yet, there have been times that I have chosen to be incredibly focused.
For me, it always comes down to how compelling and clear my vision is.
Because when I was pursuing my wife in hopes she would let me take her to dinner when we first met, I had world-class focus. My vision was crystal clear.
What do you think?
