Greg Proffit Writing

Tag: actions

  • The Best Time (Might have been 20 years ago; The Second Best Time is Today)

    The Best Time (Might have been 20 years ago; The Second Best Time is Today)

    The Best Time
    Photo by Mak on Unsplash

    # 38 on my  99 Life Tips–A List is: The best time to pursue your artistic or creative dream is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

    “1To everything there is a season,

    A time for every purpose under heaven:

    2 A time to be born,

    And a time to die;

    A time to plant,

    And a time to pluck what is planted;

    3 A time to kill,

    And a time to heal;

    A time to break down,

    And a time to build up;

    4 A time to weep,

    And a time to laugh;

    A time to mourn,

    And a time to dance;

    5 A time to cast away stones,

    And a time to gather stones;

    A time to embrace,

    And a time to refrain from embracing;

    6 A time to gain,

    And a time to lose;

    A time to keep,

    And a time to throw away;

    7 A time to tear,

    And a time to sew;

    A time to keep silence,

    And a time to speak;

    8 A time to love,

    And a time to hate;

    A time of war,

    And a time of peace.”

    ~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NKJV

    The undeniable theme is there is a best time for everything 

    Borrowing from a phrase I read recently in The Overstory, by Richard Powers, that the “best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and the second best time is today,” I am convinced the same is true for artistic, creative pursuits.

    The best time to pursue them is 20 years ago. I wish I could turn back those years and start then, as a younger man, with more time to write more things and potentially reach more people and do more good. But wishing won’t make it so. I have the pleasure of having lived those 20 years and perhaps they have given me more things to write about, so I’m using the second best time… today.

    You should too. You cannot reclaim time lost, but you can prevent losing any more. Stop negotiating against yourself over whether you will pursue your art, your music, your writing, your creative dream, and begin. You won’t regret it. The fear of failure keeping you paralyzed, that seems so big, before you start, evaporates like the morning dew, once you begin. 

    Every creator is afraid. That is the essence of creation. I’m afraid every time I click Publish. To create is to make something never made before. You might fail. People may not like it. 

    So what? 

    If you never try, the people meant to love it, be inspired by it, even be saved by it, won’t be.

    So, since you have today, and since today is still the second best time to start…

    Start.

  • How You Feel Matters Less Than What You Do—Refocus Your Attention For Better Results

    How You Feel Matters Less Than What You Do—Refocus Your Attention For Better Results

    How you feel matters less than what you do
    (Adobe Stock Image: Licensed to Author)

    # 74 on my, 99 Life Tips–A List is: Think less about how you feel and more about what you should do.

    The people I know who spend the most time analyzing how they feel consistently feel the worst. I may confuse correlation with causation, a common problem, but the predictability of this outcome led to the tip above. 

    For consistently better feelings, how you feel matters less than what you do. If you will refocus your attention, you’ll feel better,… and be more productive, to boot.

    I’m on a sometimes weight loss (sometimes weight gain) regimen known by its common name as a “diet”. To track progress, I stand on a scale hoping it doesn’t chuckle and say, “One at a time, please.” I can see the number. It is measurable, serving as an indicator of whether I can afford to drink a beer. 

    There is no empirical scale for emotional states

    Seriously though, emotional states don’t work that way. There is no objective, empirical scale. 

    Asking someone whose emotional states fluctuate dangerously how they feel on a subjective 5-point scale is the equivalent of asking an obviously drunk person if they’re drunk, and what they think they’d blow. Chances are high you will not get an accurate answer.

    Maybe I’m different, but whenever asked to pick from three emoticon faces ranging from sad—to neutral—to happy, nine times out of ten, I’m neutral. I seldom think about how I feel. 

    When I feel good, I just enjoy it. It doesn’t occur to me to stop and evaluate whether I’m at a 3.5 or 4. If I feel bad; I figure out why, what I’m thinking, what it would look like fixed, and what I can do about it. I don’t ponder whether I’m feeling a dismal 1 or perhaps as high as a 2. Degree is irrelevant.

    If you get stuck here, analyzing and cataloguing your feelings, you may wish to reconsider. How effective is it? What does your subjective answer about your subjective feelings tell you except in the most general terms?

    It is important to know how things make you feel so that you can do something to either recreate them or eliminate them. The action you take is the key thing.

    I’ve written about the relationship between emotions and thoughts, so this is where I start when I feel bad. My thinking is the usual culprit. I don’t start by figuring out how bad I feel. I don’t press on my emotions like I do bruises. If I feel bad at all, that’s bad enough to take action.

    You most definitely figure out what you’re feeling so you can act accordingly. What you feel and how much you feel are different. Yes, figure out what you’re feeling; think less about how you’re feeling, and figure out what you should do. 

    Because ultimately, how you feel matters less than what you do.