I had a bad habit, and I think I was not alone. I used to think a lot about where I was in life vs. where I wanted to be. Where I expected to be. Believe it or not, based on my personal criteria for achievement, I was always falling behind. Sometimes I’d lay awake in bed in the middle of the night wondering how I got so far behind, and more importantly, how I was ever going to catch up, so that I could then get on with my life, of course picking up immediately from where I was “supposed to be.”
Can you relate to this feeling? If not, you’re very lucky.
But of course, this kind of thinking is similar to holding on to a stock that was once very high, but is now virtually worthless, and then continuing to hold it until it goes back up to it’s all time high value before selling it and then investing in something really worthwhile.
I think the solution to this is to figure out where you really and truly are right now, as objectively as possible, and starting from there instead of where you think you should be. Completely cut your losses. Look at your opportunities with fresh eyes. Yes, you’ve put hours, days, months or even years into that project that just didn’t pan out the way you planned. Be ruthless with your future time. If you were presented with the same opportunity today under your present circumstances, would you jump on it? If not, you should consider dumping it immediately and completely, and not looking back, no matter how much time you’ve invested so far.
Once I started doing this, I started sleeping much better at night, getting more done, and removing quite a bit of stress from my life. Please post your comments below. I’d love to hear your stories and opinions.
(photo: guitargoa)
