I’m a beast. Or rather, I have a beast inside of me. There are more than one.
Have you ever heard the comment, You are what you eat? Well, the beast (or beasts) you have inside of you, the one that gets out and makes its presence known in your life, is the one you feed. It’s the one you foster and encourage to grow.
Take a good look at yourself, and you will know the beast that you have been feeding.
Admitted Starvation
I have good beasts and… not so good beasts inside. Lately, I have been starving a significant beast of mine. It’s made up of creativity, imagination, and wonder. It’s the animal inside that loves to create.
I haven’t been writing. Nor, have I been working on new projects in my shop. And I have missed that side of my life.
Instead, I have been feeding a couple of other creatures. My life has been relegated to computer programming and career progression. I accepted a new software programming position and have quickly lost my balance.
All this is okay, but It’s important to maintain one’s perspective and objectivity. It’s essential to feed the beast you want to be in the long term.
Mental Nutrition
I’m not here to tell you which beast you should feed. Everyone has to make that decision for themselves. I can tell you though that it starts with self-awareness.
Know thyself!
If you don’t know who you are or what you want; if you’re just floating through life without sail and rudder; then the beast is in control.
You might be okay though. Everything might work out for the best, accidentally. In this case, It all depends on your environment. It depends on the creatures around you, those that influence you.
Or you can take an active approach. Take control of your life’s craft. Take hold of the rudder, trim the sails, and point yourself in the direction that you choose.
The Active Approach
The first step in taking control is deciding where you want to go and what you want to do. You have to choose which beast to feed.
Still don’t know what you want?
There are many ways to get to know yourself like meditation, writing in a journal, praying, etc.
For me, what is important is removing life’s distractions until I find my inner voice. The voice (me) speaks truth and inspires me with possibilities. I’ve come to trust this part of myself by following its advice, but it’s still only helpful if I take time to listen.
I don’t meditate or pray or hold to any one system to think deeply. I used to try and conform to these types of practices, but honestly, the attempt usually was distraction enough to negate the benefit of its practice.
If you are like me, you may find that the act of taking a walk, sitting alone in nature, or soaking in a bath effective methods to remove distraction and allow deep thought.
Knowing yourself is step one. Taking action is two.
When you find yourself in the zone and thinking deeply, take advantage of the time and start developing a plan. I often find that if I can see the end result, then I can devise a plan to get there.
This isn’t a forced process. I give my inner self free reign to roam through my mental landscape and I give myself enough time to truly envision and understand what I want to do or who I want to be.
Taking action means bringing your newfound insights into the physical world. This is a good time to employ journaling or you can just go for it. I like the act of writing down my plan and getting organized though.
Writing in a journal helps maintain and in some cases increase motivation and momentum. The loss of momentum often results in an equal loss of motivation. If this happens, regardless of knowing who you want to be or what you want to do, without motivation and momentum you will have a more difficult time achieving your goals.
A clear path is easier to follow than breaking brush
Don’t Stop
Lastly, try not to stop. Try not to lose momentum and thereby lose sight of what you want.
It’s okay to stumble and fall. It’s alright if you make mistakes. Failure is a precursor to success and strength if used as an impetus for change.
My favorite way to stay on target is to feed the beast! You are what you eat, right? Your brain changes and adapts thanks to neural plasticity. So use that to your advantage. Leverage your brain’s nature (its adaptability) to succeed.
Here are some of my favorite ways to feed my brain:
- Reading or listening to books, blogs, & podcasts
- Listening to Music
- Watching YouTube videos
- Doing – following my plan for success
- Writing – journal, blog, etc.
I find that if I keep my goals in mind and reinforce them with the right mental-inputs I stay motivated longer and succeed sooner.
Thanks for reading and hopefully I made some sense in my writing today. Sometimes the words just flow. I try and get out of my own way and let the writing happen.
