If you’re like me you were raised by parents and video games and schools on a carrot/stick program. In other words, you do something well, accomplish something – you get a prize. Sad how much that still works as an adult.
I quit my job about a month ago. See my reasons here. I have in the past had a tendency towards inertia, but this time I wanted to make sure things were different. So I came up with assignments on different projects and goals: broke things down and gave everything a deadline, put it in my calendar. That worked pretty well. What’s really helped me keep things in shape is the rewards system. Here’s the deal: right now I am my own boss. No one else is paying me, so I got creative and decided to pay myself. I made another list of things I really wanted: movies I want to see, things I want to buy, etc. And I paired those with my goals. Now, I get something specific when I finish a project. Like many folks I’ve been waiting for DARK KNIGHT RISES to come out, and I can’t wait to see it. But I’m not going to go see a midnight showing of it just cause I can. I’m going to earn it. I’ve got a few projects attached to that movie, and I won’t go see the movie until I finish them. I’ve been doing this already and have found it has a few instant psychological elements: 1) I’m much more excited to jump into a project, and I don’t procrastinate. Why? Because I want to see The Dark Knight. 2) By rewarding myself with something specific, I have something external by which I can recognize my accomplishment. In addition to just feeling good – “Man! I did it!” – I’m recognizing it with a specific reward. I’ve also found that I’m appreciating these rewards on another level: I’m not just going to the movie thinking “I can’t wait to see this.” I’m thinking: “I put a lot of work into getting here tonight – I worked hard for this.” It adds to my enjoyment of the moment and the experience of the movie. Being your own boss is great, because you can pay yourself however you want. And who knows better what you’re willing to work hard to get?
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There’s an excellent quote from Gandhi: Be The Change you Want to See in the World. Recently I decided to change this up for personal reasons, temporarily, to: Be the Change you want to See in I.
A little less selfless than Gandhi’s original intent, but bear with me. Want to change your life? Become something/someone bigger or better than you feel you are? Pretend that you’re that person already, and do what they would do. Muhammad Ali said: “To Be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.” And he did that: he talked like he was the best (“I am the Greatest!”), he trained like he was the best…pretty soon: He was the best! If you BEHAVE as if you are the best at something – you do the actions that the BEST would do – you will become the best. (All right, in all honesty, you might not become the BEST, but you’ll get better.) I want to be a writer, and make my living by creating stories. Right now I don’t. So what did I do? I thought about (and read about) the people who DO make their livings creatively. What’s one thing they all do? Create every single day. (I mean, like it’s their job!) So here’s my experiment: I fired myself from my “real job.” And I gave myself the job of creator. I’ve got about 6 months to live without a paying gig, before I’m in trouble. I’m creating every day – like it’s my job. And I’m selling it every day, hustling, like it’s my job. Because making up stories is one thing, but you’ve got to get those stories into the hands of someone who can do something about it. So that’s what I’m doing: BEING the change I want to see in myself. The hope is that if I do this long and hard enough, I’ll find someone else to pay me for it. And even if I don’t succeed in 6 months, I’ll probably be closer. This blog will chronicle that experiment. Welcome. |