Category Archives: Creativity and Goal Setting

More Awesome NOW: Overcoming Procrastination [June 2019 Challenge]

Overcoming Procrastination: More Awesome NOW… [Photo by Juli Moreira]

I mentioned in my last blog post that I’d loooove to post here in my blog at least once a month. It’s been about 1.5 months since that last post, so all considering that’s not too bad. But still, it’s obvious that I tend to procrastinate when it comes to writing and this blog.

Well, it just so happens that right now I’m participating in a 30-day procrastination challenge! It’s a group challenge for the member’s of our Conscious Growth Club (CGC). Participation isn’t mandatory, and those who choose to participate can define their commitment to this challenge in any way they wish.

My approach to participating in this challenge is as follows: I made a list of all the things I’ve been putting off for quite some time, or simply tend to put off in general. The items on the list are all over the place. It ranges from some basic chores that I’d like to attend to; sorting, organizing, and decluttering of all kinds; mending clothes or sewing on buttons that have fallen off; getting an eye exam, and then getting new glasses; reading (I love reading, but just tend to put it off); and of course, writing in this blog! And the list goes on. My list is pretty long. The challenge I’ve given myself is to work on something from my list each day in June. And hey, every day I’m making progress! And that’s great to see. 🙂

As of today, a couple other CGC members also kicked off a blogging challenge where the goal is to write and post a blog entry once a week. Heck, I’m thinking of combining both challenges – so if I participate in the blog challenge and write/publish a post on one day, I figure I can also count that towards the overcoming procrastination challenge too since blogging is also on my to-do list for that challenge.

One thing I love about participating in challenges is the accountability factor. This is probably a reason why I did so well in school, too – being graded on assignments, projects, and tests is a form of accountability. Having that external structure really tends to kick my ass in gear. I suppose I felt a desire to prove myself and my potential. Plus, I tend to have a little bit of a competitive streak in me, and that inspires me to keep up and excel in a challenge – and to hopefully come out on top.

When I was in middle school and high school, I won sooo many awards for highest achievement in various subjects. I was such an academic nerd and over-achiever in that area. But, without external structure, pressure, and system of accountability, I tend not to be nearly as motivated to really push myself.

The ultimate goal, I think, is to shift one’s perspective so as to be more naturally inclined or motivated to take action without that external structure and outside pressure, let alone praise and accolades. (I love praise and accolades, but I think there’s possibly a danger in that being a sole factor of motivation because then it can become the sole source of one’s sense of self-worth and self-esteem.) I believe participating in these monthly challenges will really help me (and others) to flex discipline and action muscles, as well as develop, strengthen, and maintain internal motivation and ambition. And that in turn can help to rebuild a sense of self-esteem. How awesome is that?

Last month, for May 2019, our monthly challenge in CGC was centered around fitness and exercise. I followed that one through 100%, too. In fact, I’ve participated in numerous health and fitness challenges over the past decade and a half (or so), and have been very successful in sticking to it.

One area that presents a true challenge for me, however, is that of creativity and expressing my unique truth and vision out into the world. That seems much more daunting to me. And I suppose it should– the perceived risk in putting myself out there seems oh so much higher. (But then I wonder… is it really? I guess it’s all a matter of perception.) Either way, I’m really excited about where I’ll find myself by the end of this year and beyond.

Right now I’m caught up in a semi-creative project (it involves a lot of writing, but it’s “work” and not a personal project), and I don’t think I’ll get that finished until at least September. So in the meantime, I feel like it’s unrealistic to put another creative writing project on my plate on top of what I’ve already got going work-wise. But once that mega work project is over and done with, I’m really looking forward to sinking my teeth into some deep creative work. And this time, I really think I’ll succeed.

I actually feel pretty confident in my ability to put in the effort on a deep creative project and to stick with it through til the end. I haven’t felt that sense of self-assurance in myself in a while. …It’s an exciting feeling to have!

What about you? What motivates you to kick your own ass in life? What are your hopes and dreams? What do you want to achieve? And how successful have you been in holding yourself accountable? Are you ready to create more awesome NOW?

And with that, my dear friend, I’ll you with some words for thought:

The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure.

If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone. Great things don’t come from comfort zones.

― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

The Conscious Pursuit of Life, Growth & Happiness

The Perpetual Pursuit of Purpose and Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything… [Photo by Greg Rakozy]

Why hello, hello!

Yes, I’m still alive!

I know, I know… I’m sorry I’ve neglected this blog so much. I honestly would like to write more, but obviously I simply haven’t been making it a priority.

I’ve mostly been pretty busy these days helping Steve with his/our business. There’s been tons of work to do preparing bonus material for the new products that were launched last year – some of that bonus material is still in the making! Although, thankfully, I just wrapped up one of those projects earlier this week, but there’s still two to three months of work left on the other project. We honestly had no idea how much time and work would’ve been involved in preparing these – much, much more than was initially anticipated, that’s for sure! (Yay for learning experiences! Haha!)

I’m pretty involved in our Conscious Growth Club as well. I fulfill the role of community manager, write and deliver weekly emails, and assist during our weekly coaching calls too. As such, it simply hasn’t been practical for me to pursue delving into writing that screenplay I’ve been talking about forever. But at least some step forward has been taken!

About a month ago, Steve and I went to Los Angeles to attend a four-day seminar on Story with a special focus on Action taught by Robert McKee. Each day was quite long, starting at 9am and ending at 7:30pm with only an hour for lunch. We both quite enjoyed the seminar and got a lot out of it. I’ll definitely integrate what I learned from the seminar into the story that’s been living in my head for the past while (i.e the story I’ve been wanting to turn into a screenplay, although I’ve toyed with the idea of turning into some other format as well, like a play or a novel). It’s really only a matter of carving out time to work on it, but I don’t anticipate that happening until August at the earliest.

I know a while back I had thoughts of challenging myself to write a screenplay in a very short time period, like a week. And heck, I still think that’s doable. But rushing on a project like this no longer feels like the right approach. The energy behind it has shifted, and I need to take that into account. Robert McKee also said that writing a screenplay often takes no less than six months, and often twice as long as that. And since I want to write it well (really well), I think it makes sense to work on it when I have ample time to devote my energy into it. I can tell that time will finally be here soon enough. (3+ months seem to flow by so incredibly fast, it’s ridiculous!)

Also, as of last night, the official launch of Conscious Growth Club is currently underway! Steve and I have been working on this for the past two+ years – and we’re finally, finally, birthing it into the world. The sign-up window to join for this year will only be open through May 1st. We have no idea what to expect in terms of sign-ups, but we hope it goes well! It’s really a great little community that we’ve helped to foster and there’s so much potential for even more growth, exploration, friendship, and fun. I’m honored to be a part of it and excited to be sharing it with the world. Wanna join? 😉

I’ll make a conscious effort to post more often here on ye ol’ blog going forward. I suppose I don’t have to limit myself to any topic in particular, seeing as my uniting theme of creativity can be truly limitless – especially if you see the conscious living of one’s life as a creative endeavor in and of itself. Perhaps I could aim for writing a new post once a month, minimum? Although once a week would be kick-ass! …Hmmm. We shall see, we shall see.

p.s.

In case you missed it above, here’s a link to learn more about Conscious Growth Club if you’re curious about it! Steve also just published a blog post about it, too.

If you join, we can take on monthly challenges together, communicate in the forums, participate in the coaching calls (there’ll be three each month!), examine the bigger picture of your life and goals and tackle ’em head-on via quarterly planning sessions, plus so much more!

Our first monthly group challenge for May 2019 is going to be an exercise challenge, which I’ll certainly be participating in as well. We’ll be hosting future creative challenges too! Our future deep dives coming up over the next 12 months will definitely involve an undeniably creative component to them, so if you’re creatively inclined then that should surely resonate with you. Some members have even spun up Mastermind groups and mini online clubs within Conscious Growth Club. There are even weekly scheduled social gatherings online via our virtual water cooler / café / campfire! It’s definitely an awesome community. Join us! 🙂