History Repeats Itself

Part of my history includes starting multiple projects and completing none of them. I have a history of getting a bit “manic” and running off starting so many great ideas, then, for one reason or another, not finishing anything I’d started. I’d gone through another phase of making sure I only worked one project to completion, placing any “bright ideas” aside until the project I was working on was completed. Both offer different experiences to pull upon since the last week has seen me starting or wanting to start several projects with none of the three projects I’m working on completed.

The past shows me that, if I get something finished, my self confidence is bolstered. The past shows me that the amount of time needed to complete projects sequentially is far less than simultaneous completion. The may, or better yet, my past, shows me that the best investment of my time and energy is to work one project through to completion. I get things done faster, more efficiently, and with less stress.

My history also shows that when I work multiple projects at the same time, none get completed. The ill effects of this behavior was decreased self esteem, among other things. One of the things about getting older and having a history of self evaluation is the lessons. My lesson this morning is do one thing, finish it, move on to the next thing. I didn’t know this in my twenties. I was under the false impression that I could multitask. The truth of the matter is that’s a misnomer and misconception taken as truth. My mind focuses on one thing at a time. When there are several things, it switches its focuses back and forth, no matter how rapidly, from one to the other.

The prism and the magnifying glass story is appropriate here. In my youth, I was given a prism. When you hold the prism up to light, it fractures the light into various colors. It’s awe inspiring as seen through the eyes of a child. Around the same time, I discovered a magnifying glass. The magnifying glass just made things bigger when reading, something I need more now than back then. The magnifying glass also intensified the light. It would actually heat things up. As a boy, I found it fascinating. When I want things to look pretty, I think about the prism. To myself and the outside world, multiple projects appear as if I’m super busy and productive. It’s pretty, but not powerful. You and i can choose whether our actions, our minds, our habits in life are more like a prism or a magnifying glass.

Today, Friday, January 19, 2024, I am grateful that:

I had some success on a contract. First call proved fruitful. That bolsters my esteem and the confidence the client has in my service offering. Time will tell whether this proves a short term or long term gig. But today is all that’s important.

More lessons are being revealed. It seems as if writing offers a way of reflection I don’t typically experience. I took several months away from these lists. They’d become more mechanical in nature and I wanted to be certain before resuming these lists, that I would be delivering my message to its intended audience and not simply going through the motions. I’m certain of both and less

This is the first part of the entry.