“I Wish I Was Optimistic.” Do you? Really?

“Knowing that you don’t know is the first and most essential step to knowing, you know?”-Claire Keen in Synecdoche, New York , by Charlie Kaufman.

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Every day, I get messages and posts to the effect of “gee Steve, I wish I could be as optimistic as you.” Or “I wish I had your emotional control” or whatever.

And…to me, that’s exactly the same as saying “I wish I had a black belt” or “I wish I could write a book.” In other words, all these things are a matter of taking certain actions every day, over time.

So what is necessary to do that? CLARITY on the steps to be taken, and the ability to take small daily steps, over time. Issn’t that DISCIPLINE?

Well…not in the sense of “you can force yourself to to things every day even though it hurts.”

No. That’s not it. THAT is the logic of a mind that is stuck into the “life is trying to avoid pain” mode. That is basic animal mode, and while it helps you to survive, it also deprives you of joy. The trick is to BOTH avoid pain AND seek joy. So let’s look at that.

“I wish I could write a book.” Why don’t you? What SPECIFICALLY stops you? There will be a variety of reasons: no faith that your idea is good. Getting bogged down in process. No understanding of the way the publishing industry works. Inability to write continuously, incrementally, over time without becoming distracted and discouraged.