If you seek and accept only the best, you are a maximizer. Maximizers aspire to that goal- the best. Education, job, time out…
My mother insists I settle for mediocrity, she says with an accent she worries about. A satisficer, I learned can be just as picky, but content. As a maximizer, she accepts and expects the absolute best.
Writing itself isn’t difficult. Neither is the walk to the local mall. What matter presents the most difficulty feels like the fall air a few days before the holidays. The need for discretionary funds- any income at all asks a question of value. The distraction of chatter in the voice channels online only colors the canvas. A penniless photographer organizing his thoughts on notebook paper scratches his forehead. His sentences, as messy as his room, reflect a cluttered mind. Books offer more respite while indoors. Lately, devices aren’t worth their price tag. Gigabytes store more, but what keeps the important things? Gameboy’s or “getting good” at endless, stressful shooting games? Finding fresh fits online with every dollar, or saving for fine art and materials for photography? Typing saves more of the effort but costs some written candor. In pen, with writing, I feel the thoughts fill up the glass like water. Pressing the mechanical keyboard misses out or the realness, every word triggering autocorrects. To be effective, write when it strikes, type when it’s right.
So I came to several thoughts- as I took gyoza skins in my own hands and ate hand to mouth. To type while within voice chats seemed to deter the process. I did it out of a desire for company, but my progress grinded as different voices spoke their minds. Christmas movies, while valid, have little to do with behavior or identity change. Crafting a meal gave rise to meditation on the process. A writer would peruse old papers for articles, thoughts and recommendations different from his own- sample juicy morsels made by hybrid minds.
Joan Bingham and Jesse Arnelle, people who led lives with accomplishment certainly centered on a few good habits. Perhaps, I foster a few manners that aren't so proper. Do good leaders need empathy? Good writers might need focus... Efforts to be the kind of person who writes a novel and takes a photo grow each day. Diligence is a dumpling. Full of ground beef and ginger, pinched shut with persistence and the forethought to improve upon each formed bite. An article from two years ago holds a lesson impacting fathers today -omission bias- investments aren't for the weak upper story. They beg patience and effort- much like cooking.
The most rewarding processes have been those concepts around what exactly matters most, on a recurring basis. With the chat quiet, and the horns of an orchestra blowing soft, victorious sighs into my ears, I think about the breakfast process, what I maximize to my own loss, and what I think is good enough. To make enough to continue making- that's the ultimate system.
