While you were failing
Not very often, but every now and then, I’m way too hard on myself.
Monday morning was a good example. I had planned on getting some serious work done over the 4th of July weekend, but instead I couldn’t resist scratching a pesky social itch and so ended up spending the majority of the weekend either out on the town or sleeping in.
There I was on Monday morning, feeling like I’d let myself down, neglected things I shouldn’t have.
But then I got to thinking. I realized that yeah, sure, I failed to follow through on my initial plans, but that didn’t have to mean those previous few days were a complete waste. I put aside the negative thoughts and asked myself a question: What did I succeed at this past weekend?
As it turns out, I succeeded at quite a lot: I donated a bunch of clothes, getting my possession count down below 200 for the first time; I forged lots of great connections; I had an abundance of great conversations; I laughed; I made others laugh; I made people think; I read a whole book; I shared my dreams; I danced to live music; I broke through fear barriers to approach and chat with women I found extremely attractive; I stayed true to myself; I supported local businesses (mostly pubs); I shared stories and experiences; and I pieced together the previous blog post.
Man, what was I thinking? I rocked it this past weekend!
Now I’m wondering if you, like me, ever focus too much on your failures, beat yourself up, oblivious to your successes. Let’s stop doing that and start giving ourselves some credit. We don’t always do what we set out to do, but we can still accomplish quite a lot, even as we’re failing.
I always feel the same way after taking a full weekend to enjoy myself! This post is a wonderful reminder to keep things in perspective.
Thanks for the comment, Michelle. Yes, we definitely need those kind of weekends every now and then. All work and no play…
I totally agree! I too often feel like I’ve wasted my weekends being social rather than getting stuff done. But sometimes we need those social outlets for sanity’s sake. Thanks for the reminder
Absolutely, Tracy. Thanks for the comment!
Can I go for a ride in your time machine?
Sure thing. Hop on in
you know Niall sometimes I feel like that too. Like when I work in my shop and I make good money in 1.5 hours and then I have all this time on my hands and I think I should be working. Heck I just made more money than if I worked 7 hours at my other job. Im getting better at letting myself enjoy this free time and feel good about it. And also realizing I need more jobs like that and less jobs that take up my time
Hey Robin!
I’ve been working a lot lately, but I too will have to get better at letting myself enjoy my free time when I have more of it (which I expect will be within the next few months).
Thanks for the comment