Entries from June 2007 ↓

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are
doing, you will be successful.”–Albert Schweitzer

“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” —Anonymous

I believe both of those sentiments. An empowering question, then, is “How can I get this done and enjoy the process?” I’ve been playing with that idea the past week. A number of chores have piled up while I was working on my web and video projects, and it’s time to face them. So what to do when you don’t feel motivated and are in a low-energy state?

In this case taking a bit of a break was the first step. I’ve been doing a lot, and it’s time to recharge my batteries. At the same time, those unfinished chores are starting to nag at me. So I’m taking it easy and am also starting to build some momentum by getting a little bit done each day. Having a “Possibility List” works well for me. It’s just a list of things I could be doing. There’s no should involved, it’s just a list to consider. The trick is to break the chores down into small enough steps that none of them are onerous. So I just pick something that “speaks” to me and get a feeling of accomplishment so I can enjoy my playtime.

I know from experience that I can trust the process. When the time is ripe my enthusiasm will come back, and I’ll start getting more done each day. And I’ll be doing it because I want to, not because I have to. For me that makes all the difference.

This picture of me was taken about 20 years ago, and it’s been a long time since I’ve gone hiking. But I feel as elated right now as I did that day.

I just spent three days finishing a video editing project that I’ve been putting off for the last six months. There was no external pressure to finish it, but it’s been on my To Do list for so long that it was starting to nag at me. And I was ready to do something that was well-defined and that I already knew how to do. So I not only have a great sense of accomplishment and relief, I also had a nice vacation from being over my head and having to learn something new for almost every step I take.

Learning new things is very important to me, and that sometimes means focusing on taking one step at a time. It sometimes means temporarily giving up the urge toward closure. So it was a real treat to work on a project that was big enough to be meaningful and yet one that I could actually complete and declare finished. I hadn’t realized how much I missed that feeling.

Photo by Robin Thorn

I’ve been thinking of surfing as a metaphor for handling the problems of life. In surfing as in the rest of life we need

• to be tuned into what is happening around us,
• to continually develop our skills so we become capable of handling greater challenges,
• to pick challenges that are at our present level of ability…neither too easy so we don’t stretch and learn nor so hard that we’re overwhelmed,
• to be patient and persistent, realizing that learning and growing take time.

It’s this last item that I’ve been working on most the past few weeks. When I have a goal…in this case developing my website at StressToPower.com…I tend to want to push to achieve it. It’s like trying to run up a mountain instead of taking one step after another. So I’m practicing adopting a steady pace and celebrating the small victories as they come.

The Goddess
Originally uploaded by Eus

Oops! I was trying to change the font size of this post and the content disappeared. At least the mistake is consistent with the title. If you’re interested, Carol Manning’s comment will give you the gist of what I wrote.

….The wind is whistling…
Originally uploaded by Rosemea

I’m still learning a lot. I’m trying to install an e-mail feed in this blog. The first piece of coding I found didn’t quite work. The second one created the form just fine, but it would have linked the reader to another site. Not quite what I was looking for! In the fullness of time I’ll probably get the information I need.The important thing is I’m enjoying the trip.

Nathaniel Branden says, “The secret of happiness is to ask yourself every day: What’s good about my life? What needs to be done?” I would add a third question: “How can I get this done and enjoy the process?” Since no one is forcing me to build this blog, I figure the only failure would be if I didn’t enjoy myself doing it. How stupid would that be?

Kanchenjunga Above the Clouds
Originally uploaded by aluytenuk

I’ve been immersed in changing my website and blog at StressToPower.com. Sometimes I feel that I’ve jumped in feet first and am definitely over my head. It’s like learning a foreign language with total immersion. On the other hand, I’m learning a lot and am having a great time. It’s exciting when things suddenly click and you understand something that was a mystery at first. And you can actually start making the changes you wanted to make.

In a way it’s like climbing a mountain. You take one step at a time and sometimes the path is confusing, but suddenly the view opens up and you realize, “Oh, yes, this is why I’m doing it.”

I can’t imagine anything I would rather be doing at this point in time.