#253 Outsourcing happiness
When you outsource your happiness, you’ll always be under stress.
When you outsource your happiness, you’ll always be under stress.
You write today. You run today. You do yoga today. You reach out to friends today.
Because one day, when the going gets tough, you’ll be happy you have a writing habit to express ideas and feelings.
You’ll be happy you’re in shape enough to run.
You’ll be happy to know your body well enough to move freely.
And you’ll be happy you have friends.
I made an account on Instagram to stay in touch with friends abroad. Now I habitually spend hours a day scrolling through Instagram feeds. Is this a purposeful pursuit?
I started journaling to clear my head. Now I habitually write and publish insights every day. Is this a purposeful pursuit?
Good intentions and purposeful actions inevitably turn into a habit, and that can be a good or a bad thing.
Constantly questioning our actions leads to paralysis.
But once in a while, gaining presence and reaffirming your intentions can be enough to put you back on track.
If you know what you want to say but you can’t find the words yet, write without thinking about the words.
Write while thinking about the feeling.
Allow yourself to feel it first.
Feel it fully, then write the words.
Feel it fully, let stream-of-consciousness words come out..
Feel it fully, then start sculpting away.
Keep feeling it, and keep writing about it. Every day. Because sooner or later, feeling the words words will reveal what you want to say.
It’s not just about wanting to be good at writing.
It’s about believing you’re a consistent writer.
And consistent writers write consistently…
And people who write consistently eventually become good at writing.
When you choose the right identity, everything falls into place.
Actions overrule thoughts, and sometimes the best creative act – and the one requiring the most discipline – is doing nothing.
Because when you slow down your pace, suddenly you realize: there’s space.
There’s space for the thoughts and feelings you were so afraid to face.
There’s space to redirect the energy you’ve misplaced.
There’s space to rediscover everything that escaped your gaze while you were engaged in an endless rat race.
There’s space for you to remember
that before you learned not to listen
and constant distraction erased every trace
of the insights you so desperately chase
there was a place of stillness
a warm embrace
where all the answers were right there, in your face
Only when you’ve slowed down your mind’s pace
you realize
you were never out of place
you were navigating a self-inflicted maze
with only one way out:
Make space.
In the pursuit of our ambitions, we often create intricate plans, detailed routines, and exhaustive checklists.
But when these complexities start to feel more like obstacles than aids, it might be time to strip things back.
Where are you overcomplicating? Is it in the planning, the execution, or perhaps the goal itself?
Seeking the simplest way is not always the easiest. But more often than not, it’s the most effective.