Grit
"stick to it"
They said.
At first,
With harsh words
Rigid timelines,
Armed with "I should have,"
"never enough"
"always striving"
I tried.
"keep going"
They said.
I couldn’t.
With Gentleness
"embrace the process"
I said.
And next,
With softer words
Flowing timelines
Armed with rest days, grace for growth
Setback as journey lessons, not final failures.
"keep going"
I said.
and now,
I could.
10 minute magic
10 minutes
Mind relaxing
Recharging
Refreshed.
A refuge from the hurriedness
-just for a moment
An oasis
Of present peace.
seemingly small
mocked for being mundane.
but in reality, it's key
To compounded consistency,
Insightful inspiration
Energy: to bring ideas to reality
Creativity
Is a lifelong masterpiece
Don't cheapen your art
By hurrying through it.
1. You don’t know until you try. “Hustle culture” didn’t work for me. I don’t wake up at 4:30 am, take cold showers, or enjoy green juices. I still watch Netflix, eat McDonalds occasionally, and sleep in.As someone recovering from the burnout of “hustle culture”, I doubted if I was “productive” enough to write a book about productivity. After all, I was no james clear, not a navy seal or unbreakable gym bro.
As I was flipping through my journal, reminiscing on life’s happenings pre-pandemic, I landed on a page describing a trip I had made with Theresa*, a fellow musician, to celebrate one of her friend’s 82nd birthdays ! As we made our way through our duets and hymns (albeit, imperfectly), I watched as she smiled, savoring every moment of our mini “concert”.
After we hit the last note and packed up our instruments, she told us about how playing the piano (and crocheting !) has helped her to stay content as she ages. It gave her something to look forward to, a creative outlet that...