The big thing & the little thing
The big thing is the dream. Your grand vision, the 10 year goal, the 1 year milestone, the six month outcome.
These are important. They fuel us and they provide us the clarity of direction only a finely tuned compass can.
We go this way, not that way.
We need the big things. We need to dare to dream big- boldly- and look at those dreams often.
But-
…and it’s a little but…
We need the little things. The little things are the steps along the way.
What am I focussing on this month toward the big thing? What am I doing this week? Today?
Ask yourself these questions.
What is the big goal I am heading toward and how are my actions this week taking me there?
These are pointy questions. It’s that way on purpose. They clarify the major outcome (the big thing) and make it searingly obvious if what you’re doing now (the little thing) is actually connected.
It draws a bold line to what you’re doing now to where you want to be. Like a long bridge arching into the morning mist.
We don’t have to be certain the little things will work- just that they are the best we’ve got right now.
Keep asking this question of the little things and you’ll get to the big thing.
Plant Based Nachos
No story, just great plant based nachos:
-Dice 2x carrots and 2x Onions- Fry in a pan.
-Add this plant based mince alternative
-Rinse and add 1x can of black beans, 1x can of red beans (add more cans for more people)
-Once cooked, add this seasoning (two packets/ to taste, for more people)
-Add 1x can chopped tomatoes and cook on low for 5-7 mins
Serve with quac and your favorite corn chips- here’s mine.
EASY! Enjoy
Magic Morning Smoothie
I’ve been drinking this every morning for seven months and I LOVE IT.
After describing the recipe to a few people I thought it would be easier to just put it here for all to see.
If you’re interested, the macros are as follows:
Fat: 20.8g Carbs: 50.2g Protein: 60.4g
In a blender…
1x Banana
60g Frozen Blueberries
250ml Lite Soy Milk
10g Fresh Spinach leaves
15g Ground Flax Seeds
5g Chia Seeds
2x Brazil Nuts
3 grams multi green powder
There ya go, Sammie and Aunty Sharon!
Get it made, not perfect
I look back on a short film I made and can’t help but notice several ways it could have been better.
and I’m STOKED about it.
Because I noticed a possible improvement, my brain will be primed for similar improvements in the future. I don’t need to go back and fix this one; getting it made was the point because I now made another distinction.
I’m glad I got it made and got the learning. That’s two for one.
If I tried to get it perfect, I’d be using my resources that are limited by one less imperfect creation in the bank. The more imperfect things I create, the more I learn to make the next one better.
That is an exciting prospect and a deal I’m happy to shake on.
That’s exciting because
Because is a powerful word.
I was watching Grand Designs and there was an amazingly positive, vibrant lady on there whose house build was being documented. I was struck by how magnetically optimistic she was; against all odds, she seemed to be grooving along and riding the waves of life, loving every minute.
She was ambitious and able to enjoy the process.
I zoomed in closer to see if I could figure out what it was she was doing in order to be the way she was. How does she have such a great time even when things are tricky? Of course we can’t know everything from the outside, but there are certainly clues.
One of these clues was in her language. The host asked how they were funding the project without financing or knowing exactly where the cash would come from. He was probing for drama as is necessary in that part of the show. She automatically said “That’s exciting because we don’t know”.
Did you catch it?
‘Because’ is a causative word. It links two things in a cause and effect seamlessly and helps us believe it and thus changes our perceptions and feelings about a thing.
She did a judo move when she used ‘because’. She linked the not knowing to being exciting using because.
A simple way I’ve been playing with this is to complete the phrase “But that’s great because…” and insert the difficulty or unexpected thing.
This is optimism in action. A simple way to link a positive spin on a tricky moment and so access a more resourceful perception for yourself to open new possibilities going forward. Possibilities that perhaps you wouldn’t have seen had the thing remained an difficulty or a road block.
Because opens the door to new possiblities by gently wedging open what might have been a sealed door.
Doing the dishes
Creative work is laborious on the brain. It takes focus and heart.
These are the resources we expend when we undertake a creative endeavor. When we log the hours on a screenplay, brainstorm the new web page function or edit that film.
Millions of micro choices in a sea of endless possibility, It’s AMAZING and tiring.
When my brain is tired from this work (what a privilege) I find I need something in the real world to sooth my brain and help it to rest and reconnect with the world.
I can’t watch a tv show because that’s the same part of the brain. Reading? Forget about it. I need something to do with my hands. Some tangible change to make in the world.
I need a beginning, a middle and an end. Maybe Cinderella was just having a break from writing her novel?
Simply release
Recently this idea has been giving me much relief. If I find myself worrying about something or spiraling into thinking something isn’t the way I want it to be, I’ve been asking myself:
What if everything was just fine the way it was?
And guess what? It mostly is.
It’s as though the negative feeling is a tense muscle holding on unecessarily.
I give permission for it to simply be okay now.
Simply release.
Where do ideas come from?
How do ideas pop into our heads? What can we actively do in order to generate them?
Recently I’ve found it useful to quite literally sit still, look at the world around me and see what connections my brain makes in the inactivity. This is new to me and an approach I can’t quite trust.
I think with a commitment to make something and a little space, the beginning of an idea can be sparked. I also think it’s entirely possible to flail in that moment. Luckily in my recent exploration that hasn’t happened yet. Though I suspect there’s a clue from the Goethe quote- action has magic in it.
Start moving with an idea and see where the pursuit of excellence within that takes you. Also see what in that idea you can really connect to and get excited about.
That’s my strat at the moment anyway.
Words are like spells
What you say to yourself over and over you tend to experience. Sometimes we say things in our heads like:
This sucks.
I’m tired.
Why am I so dumb?!
Our poor brains! We get hypnotized by these little thoughts that fly under the radar and disguise themselves as innocent narrations or running commentaries.
We can edit these and choose BETTER ones! Almost like you’re a cartoon character with catchphrases (I sometimes feel like that). Here’s some of the catchphrases I accidentally say about 10 times a day. I’m not mad about these little accidents, by the way, they make me feel great!
What a time to be alive
Anything is possible
I can do anything (This one is especially useful if I catch myself saying I can’t do something, this phrases is now my knee jerk reaction to that).
These sound kind of cheesy written out like this, but I KID YOU NOT, I say these of the REGULAR. Try it out!
When energy sags- go micro
I was on day one of a new film set today and I felt a dramatic energy drop in the middle of the day. My brain quickly did the checklist to see what the culprit was and I quickly confirmed neither my sleep nor my eating had been helpful in the previous 24 hours (it is amazing how adjusting those things alone can cure so much!)
Still wanting to be at my best, I attempted to pull my focus in- but the generic self directed command “Stay focussed” did not seem to help.
Instead I found that zooming in to micro details brought back some of my resourcefulness.
After all much of our work is a series of decisions, tiny evaluations we make as we trek forward on the thing we are creating in the world.
Guiding questions when the energy sags:
What needs my attention now?
What makes me excited about this tiny thing?
How can this small thing in front of me be the best I can make it?
Little chunks are good for tired minds.