SeleniumFor the past few weeks, New Yorkers with more experience have been telling us not to be fooled by the end of February. The lesson everyone wants to impart is that March is still winter and we shouldn’t be surprised by an epic, snow-filled, month. If the first few days are any indication, everyone may be right. We’ve had more snow this weekend then pretty much the entire rest of winter. I’m not complaining, it’s incredible, and I’m here for it!
So, what is getting me going this week?
Outside Recognition
Last week I whined a bit about how I felt like I had to restart my goals of becoming a freelance writer. I had panicked about money and spent months chasing my tail while trying to go after jobs that weren’t happening. I refocused on writing projects. Nearly everything I wrote last week sold immediately. Not for a huge amount, but also not for nothing. I didn’t have to wait weeks for responses (like I did back in November and December), they came quickly, and they were positive. I think this is unusual; in fact, I’m sure it is. But in a week where I needed some reassurance that I wasn’t wasting my time, I got it, and I got the mental boost to go along with it.
I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with my need for other people to tell me that I’m smart. It’s a trigger for me, and I’m super aware of it. The reason I did so well in school probably has little to do with actual mental capacity and much to do with my obsessive need to have teachers tell me I was doing well. This topic is a whole other blog post waiting to happen, and probably a personal essay, I won’t dive too deep right now. Suffice it to say; there are unhealthy downsides to this need (like having to deal with the fallout when the universe doesn’t feel like heaping me with praise).
I’m always working on finding my drive to push forward, independent of outside validation. That is probably the number one mental health goal that I’ll be pushing towards my entire life. However, here and now, I needed some extra validation, and I got it. I’m grateful that I can channel that into motivation to work more this week.
Writing Seems To Be Contagious
In the past week, I’ve written more meaningful words than I have in the past two months. I say “meaningful” because again, reformatted resumes and cover letters weren’t providing energizing results. I’m no longer dragging my feet to my computer. I pulled out some old-fashioned memory mining exercises (old-fashioned because my college writing days are a million years behind me) and I feel like thoughts are moving more freely already.
Why can’t one week of physical exercise be as productive for the body as a week of mental exercises is for the brain? I would be in much better shape if things happened like that. I mean, I’m not in terrible physical shape, but it could be better.
I only wrote two motivators for this Monday, but they’re also two big ones. There will be weeks when my primary motivation to get up and move is the fact that my house is clean, and those weeks will be good too, but I feel like I made a significant shift over the last week, and I want to make sure I give that the importance it deserves.
