Don’t know what to doooo…
Don’t know what to doooo…
Can’t decide what’s right for me,
ain’t a little happiness…
enough for me?
Who is it that knocked on the door?
What is it that I want more?
Can’t get out of my bed,
as I’m sinking in and scrolling down
all my passions, I’m scrolling down
all my interests, I’m scrolling down,
don’t know when I’m gonna be
the talk of the town!
Don’t know what to doooo…
Don’t know what to doooo…
THE ONLY WAY TO FIND YOUR VOICE IS TO USE IT
“When you find things you genuinely enjoy, don’t let anyone else make you feel bad about it. Don’t feel guilty about the pleasure you take in the things you enjoy. Celebrate them!”
You don’t have to be a genius to be inspired by Austin Kleon’s book ‘Show Your Work’. The thought that “you are not the only genius in this world” is a great one. It gives us a healthier way of thinking newer ideas and sharing the process with everyone around us.
The concept of the ‘process’ being greater than the ‘product’ is far more interesting than waiting to show the world, your long awaited ‘Eureka’ moment.
THE ‘NEW’ IS WITHIN YOU: IDENTIFY IT AND BREAK THE BARRIER
Most of the time, we seek inspiration from our outside world in order to get started on an aspired path. Surprisingly, most of the times, this inspiration is not enough!
Seeing the mirror is important. Reflecting is not as bad as you think it is. Being mindful of your own aspirations, tracking your biases, facing your fears and building new habits slowly yet gradually helps you evolve into the person you want to be.
YOUR COMFORT ZONE IS NOT A BINDING AGREEMENT
Here’s an interesting comfort zone model which we came across in a recent Auroville Newsletter! The circle in the middle represents the things that are easy for you and of course, the ones you love doing. That’s your comfort zone right now.
The circle around your comfort zone contains the situations that you can manage but are sometimes difficult to handle. You can surely do these things but with an unexplainable uneasy feeling.
And, in the outermost circle, you place the activities that you are afraid of doing. The things you put off for later. This is the circle of under-confidence, of fear and of uncertainty.
But…
Interestingly, all these circles are just your current state of mind. Tomorrow, they may be different. These constantly moving circles keep expanding and contracting according to your actions.
In order to really see your progress and understand yourself better, you need to track these circles regularly and note how much conscious effort you are putting in each of these activities.
EXERCISE: EXPANDING THE COMFORT ZONE
Try doing this little exercise and let us know in the comments, what you think about it.
Take out your notebook. Draw the model that we have shown above. Start with filling out your current comfort things in the inner circle.
Move to the next circle and write down what you want to do differently in the future. Then, write down what you could have done differently in the past.
Think of something ‘new’ but ‘start small’. Write down these small new things you want to integrate in your everyday life. (It may be a different way to work; starting a daily walk routine around your block; changing your spot at the dinner table; using your other hand to brush your teeth; you get the drift…)
Make it official and fix dates when you aim to start implementing the small changes that you decided above.
Think about change more often:
- Changing your approach in a whole area of your life
- Changing things that you once tried changing but failed
- Changing your mindset by taking money out of the equation
- Changing one of your hobbies (may be two?)
- Changing the direction of sunrise tomorrow (Ha! Good one!)
Think about ‘new’ more often than you do now, and we promise, the whole world will become your comfort zone.
KEEP GOING
To be honest, all it takes is one small step. Use your social network to your advantage. Find something that interests you, something that’s close to you and look for people to share that interest with you.
And, for those who fear the judgement of strangers, let us share an incredible saying with you, by Austin Kleon (our current favourite author):
“The world is changing at such a rapid rate that it’s turning us all into amateurs.”
Purpose is all you need!
