Even the master yogi took a first class.
To become anything, you have to begin.
Start somewhere, take a tiny step.
Something is better than nothing.
Everyone starts somewhere.
Category: Post-It
Work in progress
We are all a work in progress.
Not every day is perfect, blissful, extraordinary, or filled only with the “happy” emotion. Everyone I know has down times, unhappy days, troughs of long, hard work, and problems they have or currently are working through.
It’s okay not to be okay.
Give yourself permission to be right where you are.
(Postcard series from Scott Albrecht, a Brooklyn-based designer who does a series of hand-lettered paper works that I am very much enjoying. I’ve sent out several postcards to readers as a giveaway through the Facebook community. Come join!)
You will disappoint people.
In your life, you’ll disappoint people.
You may be wildly successful, outrageously funny, brilliant and do extraordinary things.
You also will likely disappoint someone, at some time. And the more that you attempt to do, be, and discover, the higher probability that you will not please everyone.
It’s okay to disappoint a couple of people. It’s okay to disappoint a lot of people. It’s even okay to be disappointed in yourself from time to time.
I’m not sure I know anyone that has lived a life without ever disappointing anyone. Dust yourself off, learn as much as you can, and carry on.
Found via The Buried Life, a “league of very ordinary gentleman asking people the question: What Do You Want To Do Before You Die?” I was fortunate to be a part of the Fall taping of an episode in which Duncan attempts to swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco without a wetsuit as one of his bucket list items. (The link takes you to an 8-minute episode on MTV, where you’ll see me teaching someone to swim Alcatraz at the end of last Fall!)
Just One
What would just one of something look like?
Not a diversity of items, but a simplicity of things. A specificity, a selection, and a deliberate choice between several?
Not three workout programs, but just one workout program.
Not seven yoga mats or towels, but just one.
Not eight new dresses or blouses, but just one. Your favorite one.
Not two sets of bedding, but just one.
Not four new books, but just one.
Not three bedrooms, but just one bedroom.
Not two cars, but just one car.
Instead of two sets of tablewear, just one set.
Instead of eight dreams, just one dream to work on.
Sometimes I get caught in the trap of needing more. I have a brown pair of boots, but now I need a black one. I have a black pair, but now I need a tan one. And I need a pair of rain boots. Four pairs of boots? Do I need four pairs of boots?
What would just one look like?
[Or none at all?]
NAME IT: The Handy Cheat-Sheet For How to Deal with Feelings.
Feelings, emotions, troubles and woes: no one is immune, despite the shiny glory of the internet and our addictions to various social-media outlets. I have a handy trick that I’ve used with a lot of success over the past couple of years each time I get overwhelmed, scared, afraid, worried, or wondering what to do a midst all the befuddlement:
Name it.
The best thing you can do with your feelings is to name them. Acknowledge them. Point to them, and talk about what they really are and where they came from.
“since feeling is first” – e. e. cummings.
The range of human emotions is incredible: each emotion a short clue into your relationship with your environment and the world around you. Spend time considering what each feeling is and what it’s proper name is.
Are you feeling overjoyed, happy, excited, enthusiastic, rushed, terrified, afraid, lonely, scared, sad, depressed, frantic, cold, weak, weary, wonderful, in awe, in love, in lust? How about frightened, joyful, thankful, grateful, gleeful, brave, energized, unbelieving or disillusioned?
What is the feeling that you’re having, and what’s causing it?
I use this template to death, often walking on a brisk and quick walk, dumping out the plethora of feelings onto my mental notepad, exploring the reason behind each one. This is the template I used for weeks after a terrible break-up, the one I used when I was too tired to think straight after my website launch, and even the template I used this week after catching a nasty cold and traveling for nearly every single day this month. (I feel TIRED, yo, because I’ve been TRAVELING.)
What are you feeling?
Name it.
Everybody Has Something
I’ve lived long enough–and talked to enough people–to know that everyone has something. Behind the exterior, behind the face, behind the brilliance or seeming-perfection, there are stories. People have lived through loss, hardship, trauma, and fear; they have scars that are visible and invisible; and despite all evidence to the contrary, most–if not all–people are dealing with things far beyond what they’re telling you.
If you don’t know the trials and difficulties, you just might know them well enough yet.
I certainly know the days when I’m having a hard, difficult week, and yet the shiny internet surface–or even my in-person face–doesn’t show the rougher edges. People don’t know all that’s going on.
It helps to remember a key phrase–I believe I heard it first from Jenny Blake, but I’ve heard it elsewhere too:
“Don’t compare your insides to everybody else’s outsides.”
Everyone’s got a whole lot of work on the inside, and more stories than you can tell. Don’t assume that what looks perfect is always so easy.
And if you’re having a bad day, or a hard time: keep going. I believe in you. I’ve spoken to enough of you these past several months to know how incredible you all are. All of it. The good and the bad and all the bits in between.
With love,
What Do You Do When The Thing You Want Doesn’t Exist?
I saw this go by a few days ago and I had to share it: credit and thanks to Michael Ellsberg for posting it originally.
A few updates to the December Giveaway post: all of the slots for Saturday are filled up (they filled up within a couple of hours!) but there are a couple spots left for the rest of December for anyone looking for a booster shot to take you into the New Year. Sign up for a brainstorming session (1 hour) here. And thanks to Ian for the suggestions on what to call the “sale” (I dislike the term Cyber Monday and I also dislike the word “sale.” But I digress…)–keep ’em coming!
Prioritize action over fear.
In the doing of things, mistakes will be made. But you are doing the things, and that is good. In the face of fear, you can wait or do nothing. You can also choose to act despite the fear. (And not doing something is actually doing something). Choose wisely.
Are You Learning?
I put together a series of a dozen or so challenges and questions that I ask myself and post up in my office and my home workspace. To see the rest in the series, check out the Post-It category.
The expectation: achievement dance
“Achievement is rarely is in line with expectation; and if it is, dream bigger.”
Each time you cross the threshold and reach a goal; a goal set forth determinedly by your younger self, you may encounter both a sense of satisfaction and a sense of gnawing expectation for more, for greater. As your abilities expand and your potential grows, you’ll continue to leap-step your mind past your achievements, dreaming of the next idea and project long before you finish the current ones.
Take a moment to celebrate your current victories, and then push the envelope another turn and see what else you are capable of. Have fun.