Take small steps everyday. And you will get there one day.
The word ‘deliberatism’ has been on my mind lately. I don’t think it’s a real word, I just know it’s also the name of Eric Karjaluoto’s blog. Perhaps it’s been on my mind because I just wrote the essentialism post the other day and the two words sound very similar.
My mind falls a lot on the long term these days. I have my eyes fixed on future goals and that affects everything I do now. Sometimes my goals are fuzzy, sometimes they are clearer, but the crux of it is ‘be great’. It’s easier to make decisions because everything boils down to one question – does this thing move me closer to my goal or not? On one level, there is a lot of conditioning – the things I read and surround myself with. On another level, there are the specific action steps I take towards those goals.
The masses live lives of quiet desperation, going with the flow, hoping things turn up or turn out for the better. We spend our days in a daze, not really focused on what we are doing, just following our default programming. We wake up and do essentially what we did yesterday, and the day before, and the day before. I am guilty of it too. I’ve always (subconsciously) felt that my dreams will just happen…somehow…like magic. That is not how life works.
To achieve anything worthwhile, you must be deliberate. That means be clear about what you want to do and be focused on taking the right action to get there. No faffing around. Take specific strategic action.
Deliberate action is not necessarily fun, but it is necessary to get the job done. That’s where the focus must be…getting the job done. You already have to do the work, don’t put more work on yourself by thinking you have to feel excited about the work too. That’s just doubling your load.
Know what you want. Know what must be done. Do it.
