I have been feeling listless lately, lethargic and relatively negative considering my general baseline - it could be the heat or it could be any number of other things that are currently weighing on my mind. What I do know is that regardless of the feeling, there are things to do and things I want to do - if I was in a better mood - so I may as well do them anyway. Some people can't perform unless they feel good about performing, but in my opinion, moods come and go, but we only have one chance at now before it passes us by forever.
This doesn't mean that I am going to perform at my personal best however, it just means that I aim on moving forward, even if it is only by inches at a time. I try to take care of the mundane low-risk tasks when I am in the worst moods, because I know that I won't be at my best, so low cost for being wrong activity is the way to go. This isn't always possible though as I can't always choose what I am doing in every moment and sometimes it is imperative that I perform well.
At these times I try to remember that moods come and go and tomorrow is another day. This isn't just a reminder that I have an opportunity tomorrow, it is that today still counts toward the outcomes of tomorrow and throughout a lifetime, all of these inches add up. Life is either death or success by a thousand cuts, where the death are cuts on us and success, cuts by us through the jungle of life. While we remember the highs and lows, most of life is played in the mid-ranges, small percentages won and lost.
While the highs feel great, it is more often than not the lows that support our mindset through the middle, that helps us develop and build our default position. Many people suffer the lows and become wounded for an eternity by them to the point they are a subject to blame, a reason why one cannot do, cannot be. Others are empowered by the lows as they see the survivor in themselves, the power they have to be able to persevere through the pains and come through the other side, stronger and more capable than before, a better version of themselves.
The person who strengthens under pressure is antifragile, improved by the pain and has more resources to invest when times improve, when the lows are passed and the mid-range opportunities are available to ride into the highs. A little attention, small steps, inches clawed in the mud compound for an out-sized ROI on the investment once conditions are more suitable. Habits that survive the lack are habits that benefit from the plenty.
At some point soon I will lose my father and a person I care for a great deal, but the grief I may feel will not be of the type that will consume me, it is good, it will empower me. I already know this, as that is my default mindset - positive or negative, both are energy resources and energy can change forms, but not be destroyed. Some use negative energy to become a victim held in place, some use it as a springboard that propels them forward. The energy doesn't care how it is used, only we do.
An inch forward is an inch closer.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]