Choose What You Focus On
"If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."
― E.B. White
The picture will come out right if you focus on the right point. The same is true in life: if you focus on the wrong things, there's no way you'll get the right ones.
Man-o-man, did this quote hit me?
Every day I start my writing by "rewriting" the works of various writers and copywriters whose styles I admire. I open a book or article from a preferred writer—I have an entire library—and type what I read.
This was a tip by the late Gary Halbert, said to be the most excellent copywriter of all time. He theorized that you could "neurotically imprint" good writing on your brain by rewriting successful ads (or any script) in one's handwriting.
Doing this has been a priceless part of developing my writing skills, and if you want to improve your writing, start doing this immediately.
Rewriting excellent writing helps you learn styles of grammar and syntax. You know how to write short, concise sentences that the writer and editors have edited down multiple times.
After my rewriting, I go to this link www.goodreads.com/quotes. Sometimes, it takes a bit as I search for quotes that reflect recent parts of my life. Unfortunately, most quotes don't always "grab" me. They don't always "hit" me.
But sometimes—like today—they hit me like a bolt of lightning or a hot knife through butter.
Today's quote hit me like that.
I've been battling this problem for years since I started working for myself.
Every day I wake, there is a part of me that yearns to be locked up in a room with a keyboard and a bunch of books so I can learn and create—the artist's calling. If I were to do this, I know I would be able to produce a fantastic amount of work. And obviously, I always want to do more work and create more art—it's programmed into my DNA for whatever reason.
On the flip side, the other part of me wants to get outside, feel the sun, interact with people, and move.
And these opposing forces of my being pull me in opposite directions daily. What I do, on average, is a bit of each every day.
Each morning, after waking, I take a 20-minute walk. After that, I make my Bulletproof coffee and do some push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. Then I start rewriting and writing. This usually lasts for two hours. After that, I move to "work" stuff like processing emails, making phone calls, and working on my website (WildFoods.co). After I've been at it for 4-5 hours, I "get outside."
Getting outside usually involves exercise, the gym, and food. I run errands, hang out at a cafe or coffee shop to do some reading, and then finally go home to work the night shift.
My late-night work involves editing, writing, building my site, and whatever other projects I have at the time. I'll also do some reading.
Finally, after I feel myself waning in energy, I'll play a game of Starcraft or lie down to read fiction or watch a show or movie on Netflix.
And that's my average day.
I get plenty done, sure, and I should be happy about it, but I sometimes feel differently. I have a constant yearning to do more. Since I know I could do more if I locked myself in my room all day, I sometimes feel like I "wasted" my day because I didn't get as much done as I could.
I know that this thinking is poison.
You may not struggle with this the way I do, or at least as regards. Perhaps you struggle with feeling guilty after eating that piece of cake or skipping the gym.
Maybe you have anxiety because your school project is due, and you were "lazy" today. And so on.
We all struggle with feelings like this.
And we all need to stop!
We need to be in the moment, focus on the next step, and appreciate what we did do instead of worrying about what we didn't.
That's it, that's my best advice. It sounds simple, and it is, but it's tough in practice.
Yours in Health,
Colin Stuckert,
Founder/CEO, Wild Foods
