I wrote a blog post awhile back about how artistic output is a culmination of all the things we take in - like landscapes, music, movies, conversations and far more.
I used to feel more like an observer absorbing my circumstances than a creator of them and now I know that I was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
We curate our lives every day through decisions like who we surround ourselves with, how we earn money, what music we listen to and much more. We even shape how people treat us in how we set personal borders.
We make decisions ALLLLLLLLL day.
Every day.
And the easiest ones to make are the ones we have made over and over again, regardless of whether they are good or bad for us.
Impossibility Is A Decision
I used to truly believe that certain things were impossible. This is even after accomplishing feats I once felt incapable of - yet I still saw particular goals as unreachable.
It's a terrible thing to feel like a victim - to feel you can't achieve your dream. Finding the road to getting what we want should be a top priority because if we start to accept hopeless situations, well, that's normalizing failure in our lives.
Normalizing failure makes things easier in the short run but repeated failure can lead to a downward spiral into depression and stress.
Want to be negative and stressed?
I doubt it - I certainly don't.
A negative mind often wants to distract itself - whether with politics, Netflix, celebrity drama or some other indulgence. We're offered these distractions like lollipops for cranky children.
These metaphorical lollipops make it so easy to accept failure nowadays - they're painkillers.
It's not effortless to reach goals and get what you want but exactly that effort is what makes trying so fulfilling. The more you do it, the more addicted you get to the slow dopamine and positivity that begins to surround you as you make your life more constructive and creative.
My observations on reaching goals:
- Be obsessed but take time to enjoy life in the process
- I'm never done - if I reach a goal, the next one is knocking and I answer the door
- Finding the right information on how to reach your goal is key - desire for the goal is not enough
- Big goals that align with a positive contribution to the world come together best
- It's never too late to change a negative situation
- Physical health - proper diet and enough exercise - are indispensable requirements to achieve the impossible
A simple mental switch from seeing problems everywhere to looking for solutions is a good place to start. Stop complaining altogether and watch your optimism rise (I have to remind myself of this too).
We have been taught to strive for relaxation - retirement, vacation, doing nothing - but we are not alive to do nothing! I think doing nothing makes us depressed.
Anything is possible, hard work is satisfying and life only has the limitations you decide to abide by. Slay the dragons of defeat and victimization and understand that the pain of doing this is somehow important for a healthy mind.
Remember that dream you gave up on? Maybe it's time to reconsider tackling it with a new attitude...
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