It is my hope at this point that you’ve come up with something you’d like to pursue or a habit you’d like to develop. I’d like to talk this week about an important topic: patience.
My best advice is to be patient with yourself and with the process.
Things take time...
(Something I'm still learning myself)
I expect to come up with a concept, write a song – lyrics, melody, etc. record it, make a video, and post it all in one day. That’s just not realistic. I’ve done it, and it’s possible, but not realistic. Producing quality work takes time. It takes time to write and edit. It takes time to record it well. It takes time to set up the equipment. Even just plugging things in, turning on speakers, adjusting volume levels, testing it out. It all takes time. (Where are all my musician friends out there?? I know you've been there).
Be patient with yourself and with the process. And be patient with others. Once you start getting others involved you need even more patience.
Don’t confuse patience for laziness. You still have to put in the time, do the work, and nurture your craft. Just don’t be too hard on yourself when things take a little longer than expected. If you’re anything like me, you have extremely high expectations for yourself and get frustrated when you’re “not accomplishing things”. Well, the fact of the matter is, you’re doing great. You’re accomplishing a TON. Things just take time.
First, form a habit.
Be patient and enjoy the process. Habits won't form overnight. Getting in the habit of writing a weekly blog post, for example, has NOT been an easy task. I may be able to write a song-a-week now, but keeping up with little blog blurbs each week is proving to be harder than anticipated.
That's how EVERYTHING is. It's ALWAYS going to be harder than you think. And although I had originally planned on posting every week, I'm okay with the fact that I haven't posted in 2 weeks. Instead of feeling like a total failure, I'm proving my own point by recognizing that habits are hard to form and take time and patience.
Is there something you've tried and stopped because you couldn't keep up with it or didn't form a habit quick enough? This seems all too common that we start something and don't continue because it gets hard. Push through the difficulties. Push through the parts of it that aren't fun. Push through because it will be more rewarding in the long-run than it is right now.
As for my blog posts, I'll post when I can until I'm in the habit of weekly posts. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I'm just getting started and this is one of those habits I'm still forming. I'm enjoying the process and recognizing bits of progress.
Life is about the journey not the destination.
I’ve heard that a million times, but didn’t really begin to feel it until just recently.
I’m starting to really enjoy the process, the progress, and the journey...
I hope you will, too!
xo Dina
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