Making Every Day Well Lived (Part 1 of 3)
I had an especially productive Mastermind call yesterday with my friend Kathleen. We both had some realizations about our respective projects and were encouraged by our progress, even if it does come in fits and starts. The feeling of accomplishment provided some much needed energy after this draining weekend.
Now that I’m successfully working towards some of my goals, I wanted to take some time to think about how I’m spending each day. While goals are essential, I don’t want to lose sight of the here and now. Planning for tomorrow does not mean living for it.
“You are what you do everyday.”
— Jon Chu, film director
I want to live a well-lived, fulfilled life. If I see each day as a building block of life and make a habit of making each block as well-lived as possible, then my life will be well-lived.
What does a well-lived life look like? To me, it involves the following…
A CREATIVE LIFE
Doing creative work every day.
Whether it’s writing a blog post or editing a short story, snapping photos while on vacation or editing an Instagram shot, collaborating with a film crew or brainstorming about a new project, it’s essential to me to keep the creative juices flowing. Making a habit of being creative has opened up my world. I’ve become more receptive to criticism because my efforts are less precious to me since they’re no longer rare. This allows me to take risks, to be open to failing, and to pick myself up when I do fail. This has also improved my creative works by lessening my self-consciousness.
Honing and improving my skills.
While it’s tempting to rest on my laurels, it’s vital to keep pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone, to keep testing my limits and to grow. I was a very proud child, and rarely asked questions in class for fear of revealing my ignorance. Much of my adolescence and even my 20’s were spent hiding that same ignorance and trying to appear more intelligent, more well read and more informed than I was. In my 30’s, I finally started to realize that I was doing myself a disservice. My foolish pride was getting in my way. I was stagnating. Now, I make it a habit of asking questions and taking classes and reading as widely as possible to fill in the gaps of my knowledge, not for the sake of my resume, but for my growth.
Honing and improving my skills.
While it’s tempting to rest on my laurels, it’s vital to keep pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone, to keep testing my limits and to grow. I was a very proud child, and rarely asked questions in class for fear of revealing my ignorance. Much of my adolescence and even my 20’s were spent hiding that same ignorance and trying to appear more intelligent, more well read and more informed than I was. In my 30’s, I finally started to realize that I was doing myself a disservice. My foolish pride was getting in my way. I was stagnating. Now, I make it a habit of asking questions and taking classes and reading as widely as possible to fill in the gaps of my knowledge, not for the sake of my resume, but for my growth.
Taking calculated risks.
Keeping my script on the shelf or photos in my camera may seem safer than releasing them out onto the world and risking criticism and exposure, but the risk of not doing so is even greater. This does not mean throwing all sorts of things out into the world and just seeing what sticks. It means being deliberate about the work I share with people, making sure that it’s a good representation of where I’m at right now, and not necessarily where I aspire to be tomorrow. It means using my resources and experience to determine an acceptable risk level of failure and then making a conscious decision about whether or not to take the risk. What are the chances for success? Is it worth the risk of failure?
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
— Anaïs Nin
Doing my best.
Again, it’s easy to half-ass things and not take risks. but life is too short for the resulting regrets. I’ve had quite a few regrets in my life, all of which resulted from not trying hard enough, from not giving my all, from not having the guts to do my best.
In part 2, I’ll lay out my daily priorities for personal connections.
Originally published on www.fogcitybloomer.com.
