Feel good memes are sometimes useful.
But if we’re not careful, they can lead us to stagnation.
How do we tread a path forward without sinking?
Sometimes, the Internet troubles me.
Every day, several tasks appear in my list:
– “Visit Twitter [now X]”,
– “Comment in LinkedIn”
– “Consider creating an Instagram post”
The hope is that I’d be inspired somewhere between tapping the link and getting to the writing prompt, inspired enough to write something inspiring enough to out-inspire beyond the cacophony of inspiring marketing that already exists and continues to drown us…
… not that I have any feelings about it.
So, I hold my breath and dive in.
Immediately, I’m confronted by a sea of posts about ADHD, productivity, therapists, and the like. It’s my own fault. I’ve subscribed to them all. Occupational hazard, I suppose.
Daunted by the sense that I don’t stand on a pulpit nearly as much as others, I still bear down.
I read a tweet by a well-known talking head that says something along the lines of,
“That ADHD tendency to think you can exercise, take a shower, and get ready to go out in the half an hour before an appointment!”
It’s got lots of likes and replies.
Ugh. I admit, I have some awkward feelings… What if I came up with that? Would I have gotten those likes and replies? A multitude of other middle school feelings jump up.
Enough about me. I push through some more…
Something about the tweet still bugs me. It’s a funny comment. That much is true. It is awareness raising about the difficulties in connecting with time. That’s good, too.
But it’s not the tweet that’s the problem.
It’s that the conversation stops there. Replies are only of confirming examples and laughter.
Laughter is good medicine. But beyond a certain dose, any medicine can become a poison.
When the conversation stops, it appears to be a celebration of helplessness.
Certainly, there are difficulties posed for those with wandering minds. Certainly, they can be hard for others to understand.
But, the thing is we *can do* these things. I do all of them, as well as meditate, journal, and practice piano all before seeing my first client, with a hot cup of tea sitting nearby, to boot.
Yes, I brag, but I also hope to point out that these things are possible.
You can do many things. You can pursue multiple interests. You can do things with the time you have.
To do so is a matter of paying attention to, developing, and orchestrating the rhythms of your life. It is a practice, not something that happens overnight.
While there may be fits and spurts, growths and collapses, that’s the path of any form of mastery.
It’s not magic. It’s not hidden. It is an attainable path that begins with the first step.
And frankly, I don’t know how to say all of that in a tweet.
– Kourosh
PS Waves of Focus is about to launch its fifth module, “Getting Started”. Prices will rise shortly afterwards. If you’d like to start learning how to guide a wandering mind, without force, without frustration, considering hopping aboard.
