Disrupting the Rabblement

I’m writing this after getting off the phone with my cousin. He was talking about joining a few writer’s groups, which I think is a great idea. I’ve recently been thinking a lot about the importance of such groups and surrounding yourself with like-minded people.

Equally important, is guarding yourself against people who dampen your creativity and passion and big thinking. I truly believe that I can make a significant, positive impact on many people’s lives as long as I’m here on Earth; I can help make the world a better place. I believe, that when I die, the world will be better off for my having been here.

That’s how I feel. That’s what I work towards.

And recently I’ve been realizing that I need to surround myself with more people who feel the same way about themselves. There’s huge power in a group of like-minded people coming together, working together, encouraging one another. Many of my friends, as much as I love them, are content with settling for mediocrity. That’s all well and good if it makes them happy, but it doesn’t always serve me or my lofty goals well to be around them.

To quote Marianne Williamson:

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.

Now I’m not about to ditch a bunch of my friends because they can’t help me achieve what I want to achieve. They’re good people with good hearts who I often enjoy being around. (Plus, I realize friendship is a two-way street, not solely about what I can get from it.)

What I do need to do though, is find a better balance. I need to be around more of those big-thinking people who believe they can change the world. Because they’re precisely the ones who will, and I want to be right there with them.

Aiming for perfection is an easy trap to fall into when you try to make a positive change in your life.

Perfection is an impossible goal, and you’re almost certainly setting yourself up for failure if you set out to achieve it. A much better plan is to aim for improvement. Small, constant improvements, day after day, week after week.

Don’t beat yourself up if today didn’t turn out perfectly. Ask yourself, was it better than yesterday? or was it better than this day last week? this day last year?

Besides frustration and dejection, aiming for perfection can also lead to inaction. That is, you don’t even know where to begin so you don’t begin at all. Examples of this:

• Timmy realizes that eating animal products is a pretty bad idea, but he can’t fathom the thought of eliminating all animal products from his diet. And so, he doesn’t eliminate any.
• Sally would like to help out at a local homeless shelter, but she’s worried she won’t be able to commit to helping out every Thursday night. And so, she doesn’t help out at all.

Both Timmy and Sally have analysis paralysis (also known as procrasterbation). They’re thinking it’s either all or nothing, perfection or bust. Timmy would of course be much better off if he started with something as simple as Meatless Mondays, while Sally’s help at the homeless center would surely be appreciated even on an irregular basis.

What positive change have you been postponing, telling yourself you’ll make it happen when you have more time/money/whatever? What one small step could you take immediately to move you closer to your goal?