You’re further then you think

Live your life in the past, said no one ever. But try this productivity hack that uses your past to propel you into your future.

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Live your life in the past, said no one ever. But try this productivity hack that uses your past to propel you into your future. 〰️

This post is an open letter to my younger self, to all the kids who are struggling with anxiety, to all the students who are procrastinating their lives away because they just can’t deal, to all the grad students who are having panic attacks about applying for a ‘real’ job, or the wannabe entrepreneurs who keep putting off making the move. To all the brokenhearted artists, the lost creatives and the tortured dreamers.  

Firstly, yay for being you. You’re lucky enough to be an imaginative, creative, artistic, ideas person! You see and feel the world differently from most! Like Coco Chanel said ‘in order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different’. So, my irreplaceable friends, let’s skip the pump-up-pep-talk and swap will power for brainpower.  

WARM UP

Look around the room for everything you can find that’s yellow. Have a good look. Do you see them? Now close your eyes and list aloud all the things in the room that are blue. GO! No peeking!

Now open your eyes and look around. Was there some blue that you missed?  Quite a lot…?

This phenomenon is called Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, and you can use it to your advantage. If you’ve been focusing on your failures or lack of progress, guess what your brain is going to be attracted to as it looks around your life? Yep, more disappointment. But guess what it’s overlooking just like the blue you missed earlier? Your success, your progress and your awesomeness. This may be the secret to ‘The Secret’.  

EXERCISE 

Instead of writing a to-do list, write a ‘Did List’. Said differently, instead of the pity party join the ‘Progress Party’.  

Think of all of the tiny, baby steps you have taken towards your dream, the sketches, the research, even the failed attempts that have taught you something, the people you’ve spoken to, the tickets you’ve booked, the emails you’ve sent, the domain you’ve registered. It can even be that you’ve cleaned your desk, turned on your computer, eaten a good breakfast or gone for a walk – anything that helps you move towards that bright shiny idea. There is no step too small.  Write them down.  

Do you feel that? The tailwind of progress on your back, all the small steps you’ve taken creating momentum and pushing you along? You are already moving. You always have been; you just weren’t paying attention. If you feel like you’ve been hiding, please try this experiment and ride the wave of momentum that you’ve built up behind you.    

Ride on.

Your Friend,

Buzzy