Earlier today, my brain was mush. I wanted to write but I didn't have any ideas. I was stressed about work and money, which just filled me with worry instead of creativity. I wasn't in the mindset to get things done or to focus on a task. But, I've worked my four-hour news shift and I feel much better. Reading and summarizing the news made me okay again. Took my attention away from everything else, i suppose.
I Really Want to Set Goals for 2014
I really do want to think about next year and set some goals, but I first want to read The Desire Map by Danelle LaPorte and consider what she has to say about goal setting and the feelings that you are chasing. I think LaPorte is on to something and I do want to read her book and perhaps invest in some of her other materials if I find her message to be helpful. My gut says that her message would be life changing and very eye-opening for me. Essentially, she says that goal setting is typically about things: successes, accomplishments, accumulating items, when it's really about how we want to feel when we get those things. This is part of the reason why I wanted to revisit my poker goals and put them aside. I didn't necessarily want a WSOP bracelet or a WPT title. I more wanted what I would feel if I got those things. LaPorte says instead of setting goals toward the things, we should set goals toward what we want to feel. Set the goal to feel auspicious, liberty, knowledge, joy, or whatever your desired feelings are. It's not only less overwhelming, but you know that if you set your goal to feel auspicious, then you'll know feel auspicious once you reach your goal.
I Didn't Hit Any of My 2013 Goals
The whole idea of blogging every day for an entire year failed, although I know that it's possible because great thinkers like Seth Godin and Mitch Joel blog every day. Granted, Godin primarily writes very short posts (but posts that make very effective use of those words) and Joel does spend one post a week sharing his most recent podcast (which I listen to when there's a guest I'm interested in), but they have at least one idea to share every day. I'm sure I have at least one idea I could share every day. It's a matter of capturing the moment of the idea and committing it to writing. It's also about having the courage to share the idea, and the discipline to do more work to support the idea. Sometimes, I'm afraid to share the idea because I don't want criticism (primarily from my mother). Other times, I don't want to do the necessary research or analyze articles. I think LaPorte's work will help with this as well, since I don't take a lot of time to consider my feelings. I prefer to keep things intellectual and logical.
My business is also nonexistent, nearly, and I didn't do any of my business goals. When money got tight in the middle of the year, I had to make changes and to consider a new direction. I'm hoping to find that direction in the news industry, and use my current experiences to find a way to fill in what's missing in the news & information landscape. I did finish reading Information Diet, and I do think that it's a good read. But, I don't know if the solutions provided are ones that ultimately solve the problem. Yes, keeping ourselves focused and tuning out distractions when possible is very important to limiting our information intake, but I do think there's nothing suggesting how to manage, sort, and to think about the information we do get. Alas, that's another discussion for another day. Perhaps tomorrow.