I'll get by somehow (John Lee Hooker)

Photo by Lina Trochez on Unsplash

Somewhere, there is the ideal soil for growing mangoes. Or the best possible wave for surfing. Or the most romantic sunset for a proposal.

But it’s not right here and it’s not right now.

Our success has a lot to do with how we dance with conditions that aren’t quite perfect.

Seth Godin

There's too many people who ain't smiling (Allan Clarke)

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The professional loves her work. 

She is invested in it wholeheartedly.

But she does not forget that the work is not her.

(The Art Of War)

Will you let 'em out? Will you let 'em in? Will you ever know when it's the tipping point (Tears For Fears)

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I'm a big advocate of the brain dump. 

It's number 61 on Thomas Oppong's list (100 habits for a great life): 

Use brain dump to declutter your mind and thoughts.

It's not for everyone, but I think I have the kind of compartmentalised brain that happily shuts down once a brain dump has taken place. 

So, this rule works for me. Smiley face.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now (Led Zeppelin)

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Am I on the wrong trajectory? Am I working harder on the wrong thing?

Woh. Some great questions there. inspired by some bold statements from the ever reliable James Clear.

"Exerting more effort doesn't help if you're on the wrong trajectory.

- Working harder on the wrong thing just wastes more time.

- Learning more from a biased source will lead you further from the truth.

- Doubling down on a toxic relationship only sets you up for more headaches.

Before you try harder, make sure you are walking a path that leads where you want to go."

Sometimes in life, sometimes through circumstances beyond your control, you find yourself walking a path that leads you astray. Maybe your values or morals are being compromised and maybe you can't see it and no one calls you on it.

But maybe you can, or maybe they do.

As Robert Plant, the wonderful philosopher and lead singer of Led Zeppelin says:

Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there's still time to change the road you're on.

Forget about peak performance.

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"Forget about peak performance. Would your results improve if you simply focused on being reliable in the normal moments?

Show up when it's easy to skip. Do the fundamentals and do them well. And so on.

Before you make it complicated, remember there are always simple improvements waiting to be made."

James Clear

When we walk away from the storm's roar, then I will be afraid no more (Big Country)

King Lear Act 3, Scene II

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world!
Crack nature's moulds, an germens spill at once,
That make ingrateful man!