#164 Compulsory voting

There’s nothing wrong with striving for excellence when you’re passionate about something.

But being passionate doesn’t come with an obligation to be – or even try to become – good.

It’s fine to write for the sake of writing, not to write a bestseller novel.
Paint for the sake of painting, not to be the next Picasso.
Run for the sake of running, not to finish a marathon.

I don’t need to be good at this today.

And some things I just never need to be good at.

You always have a choice.

We all want to avoid doing things that make us miserable.

Yet avoiding them often takes the shape of prioritizing them.

“I’ll do this unpleasant thing first so that I can get to the fun stuff.”

Unfortunately, it seems to be a rule that the more unpleasant tasks you cross off your to-do list, the more unpleasant tasks appear on your to-do list.

Sometimes it makes sense to do the essential things first, even if that means you keep the unpleasant things on your to-do list.

This is not a free pass to avoid unpleasant things and only do something you like.

It’s about doing the things that matter, regardless of whether they’re pleasant.

It’s about coming to terms with the fact that you’ll probably always drown in chores and busy work to do, then doing the important stuff anyway.

Journaling question of the day:

Where are you prioritizing and attracting things that make you miserable instead of doing the work that matters?

“Don’t you ever run out of ways to write a letter every day on the same topic?” I imagine you ask me.

In fact, I don’t have to imagine it. I have been asked this question many a time. Not in the least by myself.

Yet here we are, over 200 days in, and I’ve learned that there are many more ways to say the same thing than I ever thought possible.

What’s more: I’ve learned that they’re all equally important.

Because today’s letter could be what finally makes it click for you.
Because today’s letter could be what finally makes it click for me.
Because today’s letter invalidates my scarcity beliefs around idea generation – after all, if I can come up with a new letter every day for 200+ days, where else do I mistakenly believe I’ll run out of ideas, opportunities, or possibilities?

And, of course, because today’s letter is my personal Tiny Trust Builder.

So for as long as I can, for as long as I need it, and for as long as I believe YOU need it, you’ll receive a letter every day.

That’s right: every day, more wordplay
finding a thousand ways to say
that no matter what comes your way
only your self-trust is here to stay.