I don’t have time for this.
It sounds a lot better when you say instead.
I have made a decision not to invest time in this.
That is a more honest thing to say. It also shows awareness and determination. It denotes you are in control of how you spend your day and it holds you responsible for the things your are not doing.
Time is not an entity we can control. What we do with it, instead, is something we can learn to master.
If you want kindness, be kinder.
If you want gratefulness, be grateful.
If you want support, give support.
If you want transparency and openness, be transparent and open.
If you want candour, be candid.
If you want honesty, be honest.
If you want trust, give trust.
Our environment is a reflection of how we behave, and we have the immense power to influence it.
Every day.
Art is about creating content that is meaningful primarily to you, as it is an expression of your inner world. Of course, art can have a market. That happens when the expression of your inner world resonates with someone else’s inner world. That is not its main purpose though.
Craft is about creating content that is meaningful primarily to an audience, as it is an expression of a common world view. Of course, craft can be artistic. That happens when the expression of the common world view is so peculiar that it clearly stands out among similar other expressions. Again, that is not its main purpose.
There is space for both art and craft in the world, and both paths are available to most people.
You just need to be aware of where you stand.
A good rule of thumb: if you can deliver work through consecutive iterations, reaching a point where the work does not look like something you would have created yourself, and still be working to smooth the corners and be proud of the final results, you are most likely a crafter.
Remember to take a break.
When things go bad. When you feel down. When the motivation is low.
Take a break and direct your attention away from what is not working.
Learn something, instead of dedicating one more hour to the project that’s sucking your life away.
Chat with a stranger, instead of repeating the same things yet another time to the friend that is hurting you.
Grab a book, instead of checking your inbox once more waiting for the message that never comes.
You can always go back to the problem later on.
Refreshed.
Today, I write my blog post number 1,000.
1,000 days of writing every day. Almost three years since I have decided to give it another try.
And one thing has become more and more clear during this time. The end goal is the act of writing itself. It is not the views – for those, I am grateful. It is not the likes – by those, I am humbled. It is the sitting down in front of the screen every evening, no matter where I happen to be, no matter the kind of day I had, no matter whether I know what I will write about or not. It is the habit. It is the doing.
We need habits. And we need to go back to choosing the ones we dedicate time to.
You've got this 