Lessons I’ve Learned
I’m Still Learning
Over the last two years, while there were lockdowns and restrictions, and while most of us stayed home and kept to ourselves, I believe there were discoveries and revelations that we found out about ourselves. And, while we processed these discoveries there might have been a lesson involved, and that lesson came to a conclusion or that lesson is still evolving into something more. The point is, that during a time of reflection and pause we found out who we are as people, and what we also do with the time that we are given.
There are three lessons that I’ve learned, and I continue to learn even now.
The first lesson is to not get distracted. It’s so very simple to get distracted. It’s very easy to get distracted when my cell-phone is right in front of me, and also when I’m trying to get work done, but the temptation to open another window, and mindlessly scroll through YouTube can be overwhelming. Or, another scenario in my case is how my desk is close where I can hear the television, and there is always an urge to watch television instead. What has helped me from being distracted, and being able to advance in both reading and writing is that about a month ago I got a new phone (I know what you maybe thinking, how is a new phone going to help when it’s the cause of the distractions). The phone comes with a digital well-being feature meaning it shows how many hours I’ve been on the phone, and while I do appreciate this feature it really show’s how much I’m addicted to being on my phone, as of writing this the most hours that I’ve been on my phone is 12 hours.
What I find really ironic is most of those hours are spent on YouTube looking at videos of people who are making most of their time by working on writing projects. Also, watching people haul the books they’ve recently bought, and watching reading vlogs of those same people reading those books. All the while I’m asking some of my family members “Why don’t I have time to read, or why can’t I write anything?” Their response of course is “Well, maybe if you weren’t wasting so much time on you’re phone then you would get work done”.
I’m not ashamed to admit that they are right, because it’s no one’s fault but my own, I need to hold myself accountable to how I use my time. Also, and this is something that I just came to a conclusion, and it is that I have a laptop, the same feature that are on my phone are also on my computer, when I’m done with all of my tasks I can just turn off my computer and go along with my day.
The second lesson that I’ve learned is not to be in a rush. I’ve noticed this about myself, is that when I really feel that I need to complete a writing project for no explainable reason I start to rush with my writing. Because of that I leave out many details of my writing, details such as dialogue, setting, and character development. But, what feels unreal for me is that there is no real reason for me to feel this way, or than for myself believing that if I didn’t work I wasn’t that good of a writer. This mindset that developed came from hustle culture, which is a societal standard that you must work at 100 percent capacity to succeed. Hustle culture is the drive to work harder everyday.
With hustle culture you don’t stop when you feel tired, you stop when you’ve completed the task. Hustle culture is toxic, because during the past two years I had felt that if I didn’t work on any of my writing then I should feel guilty about it. That is the effect that hustle culture has had on me, is that when I didn’t accomplish my task I would become overwhelmed, and I would start to question my ability as a writer. What I’ve done to bring myself out of hustle culture is that I acknowledge that I don’t need to overwork myself, I can always finish my tasks the next day. Acknowledging what the problem is gives me peace of mind, and I can rest easy at night.
What I also do in the morning is I write a to do list of what I want to accomplish, but it’s doing the tasks that I would really like to complete, rather than overwhelming myself with what I have to get done.
I’m also an avid reader, and reading a good book is a great way to get away from distractions and hustle culture.
The final lesson that I’ve learned is to keep my faith in God. I am a devout Christian, and I believe that reading His word, worshipping His name, and living a holy life are the greatest blessing of my life. But, during these few years I’ve really been distracted with what has been going on in the world to keep my faith strong. I’ve questioned God, asking why there is turmoil on this earth, and if the situation is ever going to get better, and of course as a believer I know the answer. Even with everything happening right now I have prayed, and asked for strength to not be distracted by this world, because I know that He will provide. When I am weak my God is strong.
