121 | Fear, Our Stories, & Doing the Thing

Hello beautiful humans,

I.

I've been unemployed for a little over three weeks now, and every once in a while, the reality of this hits me. I've been fortunate to travel and be in some wonderful, creative spaces the past few weeks. I've met so many incredible people, been inspired by their stories, and gained some much needed fuel for the fire, but tomorrow a new week in a new month begins, and there's nowhere to go and nowhere to be. There have certainly been moments where this reality of the unknown has been tough to hold, but I'm trying to flip the script and adjust my perspective. This season is a gift.

Although I do need to be moving towards finding a new job, I also have been given time. Time to spend my days as I wish, which means there's no running from the things I feel my heart being called to. I read this today in Steven Pressfield's The War of Art,

"Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign.

Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.

Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”

I read those words and tears welled in my eyes. I honestly didn't even realize I've been scared, but indeed, I am scared of taking action on some things right now, and I know those are the very things I need to do.

II.

It's easy to forget that we have agency in our lives. We get caught up in the story of our lives and forget that we are the main character. There are some things about your story you don’t get to decide, like some of the obstacles you’ve been given ... things you were born into or circumstances outside of your control.

To a degree, you were handed an initial plot for the story of your life, but at some point, you begin to bring an awareness to your life and to the truth that you are the only one who actually gets to write your story, and in fact, you are the only one who can write your story. You get to decide how you want to write it. You get to decide where the plot goes next or how you want to put a spin on things.

This is your life, and you hold the pen.

III.

I've been thinking a lot about something James Clear talks about in his book Atomic Habits. It's the difference between being in motion and taking action.

It's easy for us to be in motion ... research something, talking about, etc., but not actually taking action toward it. It makes me think of a brilliant essay by Strangest Loop that I recently printed out and put on my wall, and I'd like to leave you with that. Whatever you have stirring in you right now, here's to taking action and DOING THE THING.

Things that Aren't Doing the Thing
by Strangest Loop

Preparing to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Scheduling time to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Making a to-do list for the thing isn't doing the thing.

Telling people you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn't doing the thing.

Writing a banger tweet about how you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn't doing the thing. Hating on other people who have done the thing isn't doing the thing. Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn't doing the thing.

Fantasizing about all of the adoration you'll receive once you do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Reading about how to do the thing isn't doing the thing. Reading about how other people did the thing isn't doing the thing. Reading this essay isn't doing the thing.

The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

Onward,
Shel