I’ve been spending some time over the last month doing little jobs for myself in the future.
I’ve been wiring ornaments to small trees before putting them away, writing my future self emails and scheduling their delivery, I’ve been organizing certain things in a clearer way, so I won’t have to redo something later. And if I think there is a chance I’m going to miss something because I was lazy in the moment, I stop and don’t move forward with that task, but wait until I have the time to devote to it properly.
What am I getting ready for? Just me. I’m trying to be kinder to my future self now so I don’t fill my head with the condemnation I would surely dump on myself later.
It might seem silly or obvious to do this. I’ve started to notice how many little things I’ve been putting on myself for later, waiting for the time or intention to do them. Until they mount so high the pressure is crushing.
Adam Grant made a comment about picking your pain when taking on a goal.
Instead of creating a goal, Grant suggests you consider the work it will take to get there, and if you’re not willing to do that work, then your goal isn’t going to work. If you find the work you’re willing to challenge yourself with, then that is a goal you’re more likely to achieve.
Great lesson. But also, ‘picking your pain.’ By putting things off and letting them pile up until I’m motivated, am I not just punishing future me? And in the future, am I not just filling my headspace with a narrative about my past self? A person I cannot possibly be anymore because time has lapsed?
So why am I choosing to perpetuate this cycle? No. Its time to get off that wheel to no where.
Keep going,
~Carmen