Nov 05, 2022
5 mins read
I trust you will not read this and interpret as finger pointing. My experiences are just that...mine. They may seem a reflection of your journey, but the untold number of paths you took to reach your moment of reflection will be unique and personal to you. If you find joy in the things I describe as distractions that's great. My point is we all have our reasons to not do something today, we have our distraction that we resort to which can de-rail us from real enthusiasm for life.
Do you ever find yourself with big plans for tomorrow only to wake up and feel the enthusiasm of yesterday gone? It happens to me and that is when the distractions available become easy to fall into. Video games, YouTube or other media platforms quickly gift me with no end of reasons to not get on with the goal or activity that I had planned to do just the day before.
Sometimes it's as simple as deciding I will go for a walk tomorrow......then it snows or rains and rather than using some of the gear I have that will protect me from those elements, I turn instead to a distraction. Just like that the moment I had has passed. The trouble is I am allowing a new habit to form. It will not take long until the default becomes - grab a coffee, keep cozy and not take that walk.
In the case of my personal interest in developing The Wanderer, it has been more difficult than I had expected. When all is said and done it does not come naturally to me to write an article or to film and edit a video. Although I rather enjoy it when I do. It's not a part of my normal day to day. I have a job that pays the bills and during my personal hours if I permit the aforementioned distractions to invade the inevitable outcome is nothing progresses on The Wanderer.
Lately I have been more active on the YouTube channel and getting (I hope) better at the quality of the content. I have not done much in terms of written articles for this site as you can see, my last article was published January 5th 2022......today is November 5th 2022. A full 10 months has passed! I could point at my YouTube channel and say look at all the videos I have done there, true enough. But it's fair to say I have no excuse for not being more active here. As I type this up I am enjoying the flow of words, its not always easy to put thoughts down in written format but I feel quite content as I do it. Hours could easily pass as I play around with this article and all the while I am crafting something that at the very least brings value to me and hones my skills a little more. Hopefully it will bring value to you.
I heard this excerpt quoted from a book called Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be, by Steven Pressfield. I have not read the book or heard of this author before but the words made a lot of sense to me and I feel relevant to this topic.
"One hour a day is seven hours a week, thirty hours a month, 365 hours a year. Three hundred and sixty hours is nine forty-hour weeks. Nine forty-hour weeks is a novel. It's two screenplays, maybe three. In ten years, that's ten novels or twenty movie scripts. You can be a full time writer, one hour a day."
What do you think? Is there something you have wanted to work towards but decided you don't have the time to strive towards it or do not have the skills needed to accomplish that thing? It's clear from my own admission that I do have something I want to work on and strive towards. This whole project of The Wanderer, regardless of the form be it video or written/spoken word. I begin to imagine what I might achieve if I were to offer 1 hour a day to the project.
I would like to share with you the video below that was the catalyst for me to really start thinking (now acting) upon a thought I had while on a solo camping trip. At first glance it might not seem relevant, but go ahead and watch it for the 6 minutes it will take you then come back and we can finish this article together:
I had lost the excitement and spark for the day ahead. While it had nothing to do with making a video or writing this article it did help me by sharing the thought with others to then reflect on my own situation more closely. By giving myself the opportunity to not turn to the distraction, in this example the quick method of a propane cooker for my coffee, but instead make the choice to continue with my woodstove even though I no longer wanted to. It became the catalyst for improving my mood, I had the opportunity to film my thoughts and share them. I was able to refocus my attention to what I enjoyed and that one hour helped me reframe my day. A kayak became a swim. The specific action, kayak or swim is not the point. The point is the action of doing something rather than nothing gave me momentum. That momentum became the video, it became the self observation of how I use time, it led to hearing that quote and ultimately to writing this.
I don't believe for an instant its all that easy. Each day will be a test of sorts. I accept that I will opt to get cozy on the couch or play a video game sometimes. But as I have learned just a little time perhaps only one hour a day can make a world of difference.
All the best on your journey.
David
