If you are a reality TV junkie (guilty!) you can't help but notice the proliferation of shows that are wrapped around a competition. The contestants are required to perform feats of extraordinary skill (usually in a limited amount of time) and in the end they are judged by a panel of experts. Sometimes the results are magnificent and sometimes they are horrible. Regardless, they are always entertaining.
Watching these people jumping as high as they can for that elusive pie in the sky prize has the net effect of turning me into a critic in five seconds flat. I nod enthusiastically in agreement when the judges’ critique is negative. How could the contestant not see they had gone so far off the path? When the judges and I don't agree, I am mystified. I reign supreme as the armchair judge of my living room. Then I talk to my friends, and we compare notes on our favorites and those that we can’t wait to go home.
Reality TV has turned us all into critics. And given Simon Cowell’s popularity, we kind of like our critics a bit mean.
As a writer, I get anxious about putting my words out there sometimes, because I see how pervasive this phenomenon has become. I have a hard enough time getting past my inner critic. It used to be you were like the contestants in those shows; when you were critiqued it was an expert in the field. In today's world, where everyone has an opinion on every topic (and they usually think they are right), it is a whole other ballgame.
Before you mention getting a thicker skin by the way- I have one. I know that everyone has an opinion, and not everyone is going to like me. I know that there will likely be people who strongly dislike my work given its genre (bordering on horror). And I’m okay with that, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. It is simply the way things have gone in the Web 2.0 world.
You give to get, and you aren’t always going to get what you wanted. So the best we can do is filter the good from the bad, continue to improve as we can, and do our best not to take it all too personally.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Antidote to Procrastination
Someday is not a day of the week. - Author Unknown
I've taken this bit of wisdom to heart recently. I've spent a great deal of time evaluating and weighing my options for my future. I've made the inevitable lists, and experienced the self-doubt that I would not be able to do what I want to do. But I am driven forward by the unmistakable belief that this is my time. The waiting is over and the only thing left is action.
If and When were planted, and Nothing grew. - Proverb
I am tired of thinking about the "What if's" and the "If I only could've's". Regret is a distraction that I do not have time for, and it is empowering to think that the best is yet to come, if I only reach for it.
In my true procrastinator fashion, I have spent periods of time doing nothing, and had tremendous spurts of action that are changing my mindset from the inside out. Every time I see the result of what I've done (positive or negative) I am inspired to do more. And that is when it hit me. The way to break through procrastination is to be inspired to act.
Inspiration is around us everyday. Watching the Olympics is a great source of inspiration. You watch the athletes pursuing their dreams, and you celebrate their highs with them. Even in failure, they never stop driving towards the end goal. When you think about that single minded focus, especially if you don't have it, you feel pretty lazy.
I caught an episode of a TV series that I used to love last night. After watching it with more mature eyes, I had a million ideas race through my head for some new stories. I watch people moving in their own lives around me and I wonder where they are going and what is the most important thing in their life right now. My imagination overflows.
Eventually, when you feel that inspiration, your mind will hit critical mass, and you have no choice but to DO something with it. It drives you forward. It makes your heart sing. It is a high unlike any other.
Bring on the inspiration, and let's get it done.
Procrastination is something best put off until tomorrow. - Gerald Vaughan
I've taken this bit of wisdom to heart recently. I've spent a great deal of time evaluating and weighing my options for my future. I've made the inevitable lists, and experienced the self-doubt that I would not be able to do what I want to do. But I am driven forward by the unmistakable belief that this is my time. The waiting is over and the only thing left is action.
If and When were planted, and Nothing grew. - Proverb
I am tired of thinking about the "What if's" and the "If I only could've's". Regret is a distraction that I do not have time for, and it is empowering to think that the best is yet to come, if I only reach for it.
In my true procrastinator fashion, I have spent periods of time doing nothing, and had tremendous spurts of action that are changing my mindset from the inside out. Every time I see the result of what I've done (positive or negative) I am inspired to do more. And that is when it hit me. The way to break through procrastination is to be inspired to act.
Inspiration is around us everyday. Watching the Olympics is a great source of inspiration. You watch the athletes pursuing their dreams, and you celebrate their highs with them. Even in failure, they never stop driving towards the end goal. When you think about that single minded focus, especially if you don't have it, you feel pretty lazy.
I caught an episode of a TV series that I used to love last night. After watching it with more mature eyes, I had a million ideas race through my head for some new stories. I watch people moving in their own lives around me and I wonder where they are going and what is the most important thing in their life right now. My imagination overflows.
Eventually, when you feel that inspiration, your mind will hit critical mass, and you have no choice but to DO something with it. It drives you forward. It makes your heart sing. It is a high unlike any other.
Bring on the inspiration, and let's get it done.
Procrastination is something best put off until tomorrow. - Gerald Vaughan
Monday, February 15, 2010
Oh Sticky Notes- How I Love Thee
They infiltrated my life when I wasn't looking. I had a mental note to go through my notebook and follow-up on all the to do's that had gotten buried in other to do's. I had been diligent in my efforts to mark action items in my notes (with a checkbox next to each) but delinquent in actually completing them. I needed a better system.
Enter the sticky note. Now I could keep a running list front and center each day. I could stick to my computer screen, or off to the side of my desk so that I could add and cross off at will. It was liberating. There was a great satisfaction to realize at the end of the day I could simply peel an unfinished list off the desk, smack it to my planner, and pick up where I left off at home.
Then the insidiousness began. I wrote separate lists, on different colored sticky notes, to organize "personal" and "work" related activities. My stickys were following me everywhere now, and a neon green tablet found its way into my coat pocket, for those "spur of the moment" sticky ideas. Sticky notes were in my books, my journals, my magazines; anywhere there was an idea or action that required my attention at a later date.
It was standing in the Target office aisle, drooling over the myriad of color, size, and sticky note options that I realized I had an obsession. But it's one that I can't help but embrace. I feel empowered with the sticky at my side. Watch out world. Who knows what will happen now that I'm organized.
Enter the sticky note. Now I could keep a running list front and center each day. I could stick to my computer screen, or off to the side of my desk so that I could add and cross off at will. It was liberating. There was a great satisfaction to realize at the end of the day I could simply peel an unfinished list off the desk, smack it to my planner, and pick up where I left off at home.
Then the insidiousness began. I wrote separate lists, on different colored sticky notes, to organize "personal" and "work" related activities. My stickys were following me everywhere now, and a neon green tablet found its way into my coat pocket, for those "spur of the moment" sticky ideas. Sticky notes were in my books, my journals, my magazines; anywhere there was an idea or action that required my attention at a later date.
It was standing in the Target office aisle, drooling over the myriad of color, size, and sticky note options that I realized I had an obsession. But it's one that I can't help but embrace. I feel empowered with the sticky at my side. Watch out world. Who knows what will happen now that I'm organized.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
