I’m going to assume that you’ve had a Monday - Friday job that you hated. If not, you’ve at least been in school before and “longed for the weekend”.
When Friday afternoon rolls around you can’t wait to escape. Everyone is asking each other “what are you doing this weekend?” and you have been thinking about your answer since Wednesday.
(Believe me, I’ve been there.)
If this currently describes you, then you have probably put your life on hold. You are sacrificing the precious time you have on this planet to do something all week that you dread every Sunday evening.
If you always have “a case of the Mondays”, how are you supposed to feel most alive?
Since when is trading five days of pain and agony to get two days of freedom a good trade? A preschooler wouldn’t accept that offer.
Sure, I know that having a job or career is practically a necessity in this day and age (and believe me, I’m not advocating that you drop off the face of the Earth and go “find yourself”), but at least find work that you makes you feel alive.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman
This doesn’t mean that you just lock yourself in a room, make a list of all the things you are “passionate about”, and choose the one that sounds most fun. (I’m pretty sure that playing Call of Duty, watching the Olympics, or sitting on a beach reading novels isn’t going to pay the bills.)
What it means is that you don’t settle.
What it means is that you spend your downtime moving closer and closer to your ideal life. We’re talking baby steps.
Excuses
One of the biggest struggles that I hear from people is that they don’t have the time to make the changes in their life that they know they need to make.
If this describes you, I’m calling you out. (You’ve been warned.)
Show me someone that says they can’t find one extra hour every day to put towards changing your life for the better and I’ll show you a liar.
Simplify your life. Start saying no. Minimize your commitments.
Then use that extra time for action! Not “unwinding” in front of the television. Not reading more books or blog posts for ideas. Not listening to podcasts or watching TED talks for inspiration. A-C-T-I-O-N.
If you want to be a writer, then write. If you want to be a photographer, take photos. If you want be a _______er, then go take an hour and _______ your heart out. It really isn’t much harder than that.
You might find out that you actually hate doing this thing that you’ve dreamt about being while you were stuck in yet another boring meeting at work or staring at red brake lights during your commute. But, you’ll never know until you try.
Your Homework
Here’s my challenge for you this weekend.
Whatever it is that you want to be (actor, pianist, surfer, etc.), spend as much time as you physically can doing it this weekend.
I don’t want to hear excuses. (You can catch up on watching the Olympics on Monday.)
There are always 1,000 reasons not to do something. Successful people choose to act anyway.
Have a great (and life changing) weekend.
//
CW
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I love it! It’s interesting that you brought up the possibility of totally hating something that you’ve been dreaming about. You really will never know until you try. As for me, I’m going to spend the weekend outside taking photos. Hell, I’m even going to go fly a plane.
As always, thanks for the great article, Caleb!
Sounds like you planned a great weekend. Hopefully you didn’t “hate” either of those things after you did them though.
Haha nope, I didn’t! I ended up really liking both! After calling in some favors, I’ve got myself a plane and instructor so I’ll be casually getting my private license over the next little while. Also, I’ve gone out a few times to do some architectural photography shoots!
Hooray for A-C-T-I-O-N!
Hi Caleb, I agree with you, we just need some actions.
Right today I had an exam.
The first half of the week I thought I couldn’t do it in 7 days, so I didn’t study (it’s awesome how a brain can find excuses to procrastinate!)…I kept thinking that I hadn’t enough time.
3 days ago I realized that to pass the exam I needed to study (yes, it’s the most obvious thing in the world!) so I started studying.
At the end I passed it
A clear proof that:
- We have enough time to do much more things than we think.
- Actions are the only things that can make us succeed.
I love the last thing you said there Mauro:
“Actions are the only things that can make us succeed.”
True words. Thinking about and planning what you want to do can only get you so far.
Hey, I just met you. And this is crazy. But you’re really calling out our b.s. and challenging us to do something that could change our lives, maybe.
… Thank you!
Best. Reply. Ever.
Haha, you cracked me up Deanna, but now I’m mad at you for putting that song in my head…
Just wanted to say excellent article. I worked a job I hated for 3.5 years before finally taking action to improve my life.
While I can’t say that every day is a awesome and fulfilling, I am much happier. I take action everyday to get where I want to be and even the smallest accomplishment is worth everything sacrificed.