How to Feel at Ease

This week I have felt strangely at ease.

Now I’m trying to figure out why.

I think one ingredient is that I have (finally) accepted doing anything worthwhile takes a long time.

This long term view seems to have cured some of my daily jitters. (For now).

I often have new ideas. I’ll get inspiration from a book, blog, or tv series and I’ll just run with it. My mind will be fully soaked in this new idea for hours. And then… nothing.

Maybe I write a plan down. Think a bit more about it. Dream a bit more. Maybe I even take the first few steps.

But I quickly revert back to normal. Realizing that obviously this new idea will take more time and energy than I have to spend on it.

It’s fun to have new ideas. Fun to dream about realizing them. It is less fun working on them — at least if what I care most about is the end result and not the journey getting there.

But while it is fun spending time and energy on new ideas, it also cause a lot of misery. New ideas are like candy for the mind. I’ll get a sugar rush and feel great — only to crash hard later.

It’s okay to have a bit of candy every now and then. But not all the time. Same should apply to rushing after new ideas.

I think what I have experienced lately has been a focus on the goals I already have. The ideas I already follow. Not dreaming about their end state so much. Just accepting that I’m working on this and it will take some time.

No need to rush. No need to “do more”. No need to compare my current state with anyone else or with my dreams. Just focus on the good daily habits I have developed and move slowly but surely towards goals I set a long time ago.

This makes me feel at ease. Knowing I already chose this path and I don’t need to rethink it every day (reflecting once in a while is good of course!).