A few weeks ago, I ordered and started reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, only to put it down. Not because it wasn’t interesting, but because another book1 I ordered had arrived and it stole my attention. Then last Monday as I travelled to Malton on the Kitchener Go Train, I picked up where I left off with Be Useful. And as often happens lately when I’m reading certain books, it felt like Schwarzenegger could read my mind and his words were directed right at me. I knew then that I had to embrace reality.
Be Willing to Dig Deep
It feels like I have been unable to focus even since I quit my last job at the end of June. I blamed it then on burnout. Later, as I started a new job, I attributed it to the difficulty I had adjusting to my work schedule. And, to a certain degree, both of those were true. But when I was finally able to look deeper at myself, the issue became clear. While I wanted to embrace reality, I was instead running away from it.
In Be Useful, Schwarzenegger summed up my problem pointedly, writing: “It’s not the hours in the day you lack, it’s a vision for your life that makes time irrelevant.”2 That, I knew instantly, was the source of my lack of productivity and focus. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. I no longer had a clear vision for my life.
No More Excuses
When you’re in the wrong job or one you don’t necessarily like, when you’re tired and not getting adequate sleep, it’s easy to lose sight of what it is you want. And because I didn’t have a clear vision, I was spinning—caught in a rut that I couldn’t pull myself out of. And I’m still ‘stuck,’ trying to figure out how to get moving again.
As a writer with a day job (especially a new one), I get wrapped up in learning everything I can about my position so I can excel at it. The problem with that is, I temporarily lose sight of my writing goals. Because my salary allows me to pursue at the same time a career as an independent author, it’s important that I do well. But I am first and foremost a writer, and if I want to keep publishing books, I have to write. Every day. And to embrace reality, that means no more excuses. And Schwarzenegger has some hard-hitting advice: “First of all, rest is for babies and relaxation is for retired people.”3
Embrace Reality
There is a simple truth: we all have the same twenty-four hours in a day. What separates those who accomplish their goals from those who don’t is that “they either find the time, make the time, or turn the time they do have into what it needs to be for them to accomplish the task in front of them.”4 Until I switch to my new [day] shift in January, I need to embrace reality. I’m going to be tired. Most days, I’ll feel like a zombie due to inadequate sleep. But among those challenges and others, there is still time for me to write. I must decide how I spend that time…and if I’m going to get sh*t done.
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