This blog has been live for approximately one year and it’s seen topics from developing Scrawlers to writing to books to improv and beyond. Still, I’m not eager to to acknowledge this blog has less than fifty posts, overall. In a way, that’s sobering, because that means I’m only blogging around 13% of the year and I should be doing a lot more.
In fact, I should be doing a lot more, overall, and it’s likely you should be, too.
What is the elusive formula for success?
There has to be a simple way to readjust lifestyle. I want Scrawlers to succeed, and this blog is part of that success. I also want to write more, eat better, communicate more clearly, be smarter about how to use the internet, and “veg out” less. Many of these are related to how I handle time, but some of them also have to do with deciding what’s the most positive choice and what, though not the most positive choice, is a livable choice. Sure, it’s probably better not to flip through the TV channels over and over after determining nothing good is on, just in case one of the channels inexplicably pulls an infomercial halfway-through in favor of a Seinfeld re-run. And I know it’s not the most positive choice, but I can live with it in the short-term. I don’t notice the long-term effects, not in the moment.
Like how this blog only has fifty pieces of writing in one year? How’s that for a callback? Yikes.
Fulfilling obligations isn’t enough.
I’m reminded of Ron Livingston’s character, Peter Gibbons, in Office Space who admits to the corporate goons that he does just the minimum amount of work necessary so as not to be fired. How many of us live our lives this way?
And really, saying “yes” to fulfilling obligations isn’t enough, because there’s no guarantee we’ll choose to be 100%. Ever skipped a day of work or school? Ever let a bill float a month or even a few days? Ever put off a car repair or a doctor’s visit, because even if you’re pretty sure something isn’t working right, maybe it will just go away? I’m willing to wager that putting creativity in the foreground as an obligation alone isn’t going to cut it for me.
Having desire isn’t enough.
A lot of folks have desire, but being an “idea man” is only going to take one so far. For example, if I had a nickel for ever time I’ve heard an actor or writer talk about how they’re going to “write something up” and do something new, I’d have enough nickels to pay for the drinks they nurse as the pine over how great they’re going to be, someday. I’m somewhere in there, too, with a lot of big talk but a lot less to show for it.
So if want isn’t enough, the desire to truly accomplish something isn’t enough, what’s the trick? I wonder if it’s…
Desire to fulfill your obligations, be obligated to fulfill your desires.
It’s a reversal of how I think many folks approach their goals, including me. If one wants to do what one has to do, that’s taking a big step toward making it seem less like work and more like something cool. “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” sang Mary Poppins. Likewise, if one feels they have to do what they want to do, that’s taking another big step forward to fulfilling goals. I think one needs both, because if you’re only obligated to fulfill desire, you may never fulfill those obligations (most landlords don’t understand a missed rent check simply so you could buy the guitar amp which will take you to stardom).
Maybe I’m getting too philosophical here, I don’t know. Still, it’s something on my mind. This is the third blog post in as many days, and it’s something I desire to do, so maybe I’m on the right path.
-nm
[tags]desire, obligations, idea man, one-year old blog, Seinfeld[/tags]