For the multi-passionate, variety truly is the spice of life. We thrive on taking on many tasks and projects, and there’s simply nothing as exhilarating as closing a new contract.
The first is that you end up taking on too much, even things you realize you ultimately had no interest in taking on. And then you’re either forced to finish the project, begrudgingly, or hurriedly find someone else to handle it on your behalf.
The second is you end up filling your time with tasks that pay but don’t necessarily offer fulfillment. I recently heard the reason Chris Tucker hasn’t always been in the public eye is because he’s looking to have a long career, not just make a ton of money. If the right project came along, he would jump on it, but otherwise, he’d rather not work.
Thirdly, and finally, you end up making shallow progress in most areas, never reaching your goals. Another year disappears into the dust, and you end up feeling like you didn’t accomplish much (even though you were probably busy as all get-out).
This year, I’m trying something new on. I’m interested in making massive progress in one or two areas, not a bit of progress in many areas. And the main thing I’m interested in going deeper into for the next year is podcasting.
And the thing that I’ve started saying to myself is:
“Let’s try it for a year and see what happens.”
In the grand scheme of things, a year is a relatively short amount of time. If you’re not happy with how things turn out in a year, you can always go back to the way things were. Plus, a year is long enough to see results from what you’re doing. You won’t always see much progress in 90 or even 180 days.
Because I’m facing some big decisions this year, thinking this way has been relieving me of some pressure. Because I can try things for a year and see how they turn out. If things don’t work out, I can go back to the way things were.
But saying “yes” to everything isn’t a strategy, and it isn’t likely to work out over the long haul.
Somehow, someway, you’ve got to remember to put yourself first.
If you don’t, you could burn out. And you aren’t much good to yourself or anyone else if you burn out.
Your health and wellbeing are a macro consideration because they affect everything.
Many things people consider “macro” aren’t, whether it’s traveling, taking a new job, entering a relationship, or buying a house.
These opportunities need to fit within your ecosystem. If they don’t, they will take away from it. That makes them “micro” considerations.
So long as your heart is beating, there will always be more opportunities.
I don’t know how we’ve gotten away from this, but we have. We are putting other people and other priorities above our own wellbeing. And we are suffering the consequences.
What’s workable is putting yourself first – ensuring that you’re ready for opportunities that come your way and having enough space in your life to say “yes” to the ones that fire you up.
As artists, we tend to be empathetic and sensitive to the needs of others. We try to make sure everyone around us is okay before we even worry about how we might be doing.
But no matter how much you wish your kind gestures were acknowledged, your goodwill reciprocated, your generosity received, there will always be those with a forked tongue ready to cut you down to size.
You will be quick to blame yourself, of course. Wonder what you did wrong. Wonder what you could have done better. And you might keep turning those thoughts over in your head until you feel a sense of relief. It’s painful, and often fruitless, as our offenders quickly forget what has already been resolved in their minds.
You don’t know what’s going on in their world or the kind of day they’ve had. You haven’t the faintest clue how they interpreted your words or how they made them feel.
The thing is, you’re doing the best you can, especially considering the constraints you’ve lived with your whole life. It’s not as though people take the time to understand before they accuse you of wrongdoing. They just go right ahead and lay into you with their resentment and insecurities.
It can be tough, but I’m not here to offer strategies and tactics on how to navigate this minefield. Honestly, you should just keep being who you are, regardless of what anyone says. The offense lies with the person who felt it, not with you.
But it is important to realize that you don’t always need to be so selfless. You can’t give out of scarcity – you can only give out of overflow. Whenever you feel tempted to try to please everyone, ask yourself, “am I overflowing with gifts to give?”
Relationships, in any dimension, aren’t always easy. Some of your greatest disappointments, sadly, will come through those you know, like, and trust most. What matters most is that you carry on. You can achieve at the level you desire and make your vision a reality with or without them. You need to be that strong.
With that, here’s what I created for you this week:
David Andrew Wiebe
I publish daily to inspire creatives and creators just like you.
The Indie YYC is a creative community dedicated to inspiring local artists in pursuit of independent creativity, independent thought, and independent life.
I host a weekly series called Creative Entrepreneur where I share weekly podcast content to help you find new inspirations and pathways to achieve more creative and practical independence.
Towards the beginning of November, I went on a two-week break.
Because I burned myself out at the top of September, resting and sleeping were my top priorities.
I also wanted to spend some time reading, journaling, and reflecting. I asked my mastermind and mentors for their thoughts as well.
While I was on break, I wanted to keep publishing daily. But I didn’t want to keep publishing on the music business. I wanted a break from that too.
So, I dreamed up the Life Transitions series. It’s something that came to me as I was driving between Abbotsford and Vernon. My thinking was also guided by the podcasts I was listening to on that journey.
Although I have certainly published on topics outside of music regardless, especially here on my personal blog, I needed to distance myself completely from my frustrations. And on some level, my frustrations were probably becoming apparent, because let’s face it – you can’t hide anything.
All that to say, thanks for indulging me.
I’m starting to home in on a publishing plan for my respective projects. I’m also looking more closely at how to integrate and make time for my various interests and passions each week.
Since I got into network marketing in 2011, I had always been taught to focus. And I couldn’t. Try as I might, it just didn’t work. I had both good moments and not so good moments, but inevitably I would revert to my old way of being. I’d keep generating new ideas, become excited about them, and end up wanting to pursue them.
Still, I always wondered what it would look like to be fully focused on one thing.
I guess I got a bit of a taste of that this year.
And all I can say is that I don’t think it’s in my DNA to have a singular focus. And even if it was in DNA, who’s to say I’d be any further along in any of my endeavors?
I think it’s even simpler than that. Others have certain gifts I don’t. I have certain gifts others don’t.
To paint either as right or wrong is to create a black and white world that simply doesn’t exist.
The fact that I have felt wrong for it, though, is on me. And I’m left to process that.
So, that’s what I mean when I say I’m refining my plan – my publishing plan, as well as my weekly plan.
Because I want the freedom of being able to work on a variety of projects. This is something I’ve done with or without deliberate intent anyway. So, maybe it’s true what one of my friends once said – “an elastic band always snaps back into place.”
But if any part of this series has caught your attention, please follow me. There’s always more where that came from.
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed this series on life transitions. I hope it has helped you. I hope you’re starting to see how to handle difficult transitions, and how you can turn them into advantage, opportunity, or at the very least, become complete with them.
Completion is all you can ask for. And the good news is you can create it for yourself.
Whatever feeling you’ve been experiencing, whatever story has been going on in your head, it’s with you and no one else. This doesn’t mean you can’t have conversations with others to cause completion, because that may well be part of it!
But it does mean that you’re the only one responsible and capable of causing completion for yourself. Choose it and pursue it, especially if transitions have left you feeling beaten down. It’s worth the fight.
Thanks again for joining me and keep an eye out for a future series.
Shh… Don’t tell anyone. Only the cool kids are talking about it.
You can’t please everyone.
