I was pondering last night about some aspects of being and doing, and I stumbled into something that seems to be working for me, at least over the past few hours.
There are some things we know we must do that are very difficult for us to do. We seem to lack the discipline to carry out consistent action towards our goals. Most of it stems quite simply from poor habits. We have repeatedly taken certain patterns and routes of action that prevent us from getting what we truly want. It stands to reason that if we can slowly tweak our habits, we can experience the results we truly want.
For instance, most times I have the habit of kicking off work sessions with an episode of something…Fringe, Supernatural, Bones, whatever. Usually that turns into about 3 hours of viewing pleasure (cringe), before any proper work starts. This is usually when I have to deal with assignments. As much as it is an avoidance mechanism of something I do not find pleasurable (assignments), it is also just a habit that has been forged over years, a knee jerk response.
So I’m thinking about this last night, and I realize that some part of me…the highest part of me wants to be productive. That guy wants to be prolific in his work both on and off campus. He wants to design great structures, great visual material and great interfaces. This guy actually finds pleasure in working and exploring the various aspects of design and growing in competence and skill. Sure my lower desires are to watch stuff or do something more entertaining with my time or be lazy, but my highest desire really is to work through the initial pain and find the bliss of productivity and achievement.
So if I can honor my highest self, if I can become him for longer periods of time, I will fulfill my highest desires, I’ll become the person I really want to be.
It starts with the simple awareness, entering the mind of my highest self, feeling what he feels, imagining what he gets excited about…and doing it…again and again. Eventually new habits are formed.
And so far so good, since last night I’ve been able to switch seamlessly between graphic design, architecture and writing, working on multiple projects in multiple disciplines simultaneously.
