It has been a while since my last blog post, and I could go on and on while telling you how I spent the last four months, how incredibly and deeply my life has changed, how much I have changed myself and how far I still want to go with this.
And I will probably do it. In the weeks or months or years to come, since we are talking big changes here.
At the same time, I strongly appreciate the motto "Show, don't tell" and I believe that the best way to come back after such a long silence is just... to come back. To be back, to be here again, while writing this post for you.
To show up again and to stick to the decision to be back and to keep posting new content in the future, day by day.
To show you how I have changed, post after post and week after week, instead of just sitting here and explaining to you how I did it.
To show you how I have changed, post after post and week after week, instead of just sitting here and explaining to you how I did it.
For my comeback, I chose two inspiring quotes by the Greek philosopher Aristotle [384 BC – 322 BC]. It is somehow funny to me opting for Aristotle for my very first blog post written in 2016, since I was not used to liking him when I was learning philosophy at school, and yet Aristotle's lean and very pragmatic point of view is still powerful and modern after over two thousand years.
The following quotes are perfect for getting motivated and staying on track every day and they contribute to maintaining and building up an effective and strong mindset.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle [384 BC –322 BC]
What do I do, every day?
What do I do, repeatedly, day after day?
Above all, what do I want to do, repeatedly, day after day?
The last four months helped me immensely to find new answers to these questions: answers that define what I think, what I feel, what I am, what I do, how I live now.
Answers I am proud of and that shape my life one day at the time. [Stay tuned for more on this subject in the posts to come!]
Answers I am proud of and that shape my life one day at the time. [Stay tuned for more on this subject in the posts to come!]
Having a clear idea of what one wants to do and to achieve and then being consistent is the key here, and yet one can have a bad day or fail, sometimes.
What should one do, after failing at something?
It would be awesome to say that one just has to keep doing, no matter what. Unfortunately, in difficult situations or while being faced with criticism or failure, we all tend to get scared or pissed off, to be negative, to get stressed or aggressive, to quit, to avoid trying again, because we are worried about a new failure, about the others being judgemental, about bruising our ego. Sometimes just for a short period of time, sometimes for good.
I am no different from anybody. I have been there so many times, in the past.
I got scared, I got sad, I got defensive, I got aggressive, I got disappointed.
I went for the tragedy, and not for the party.
What do I do now, while failing at something or facing a bad day or an unpleasant situation?
I stay in the situation and I choose to not quitting or leaving as an emotional reaction, I notice my feelings and my fears, I pay attention to them, and yet I don't react to them.
Instead, I go back to a place of love and acceptance (for me, the people around me, the situation, the circumstances, whatever it is important and relevant in the moment), I stick to my values and my priorities and I then take a decision based on facts and not on emotions. I can try again and/or I can just let go, while keeping up with my work, my life, my projects.
[Are you ready to dance in the rain,
kind of Gene Kelly's style?]
I now do this while knowing that, slowly but surely, I will at some point fail or be stressed and sad. Again, and again, and again. Sure thing.
What to do, then?
I will then stay strong, keep cool, analyze the failure, learn the lesson that I have to.
I will go back to that place of love and acceptance again and again and keep trying. Or I will let go or leave, if I feel that it is the right thing to do. Without being afraid of what other people think or say. Like no one's watching, as they say.
Someone will watch anyway, and someone will criticize me. Someone will get upset, and someone will not like what I do. Because it is not possible to make everybody like me, even more if I am creating something personal and unique, that says a lot about me.
This is all part of the game, and I have to live with it, if I want to do something and to get my hands dirty. Just like everybody else. Just like you.
The second quote by Aristotle is what I will repeat myself in those moments of doubt, and I am sure that it can help you too, when you should suddenly feel overwhelmed or worried.
Someone will watch anyway, and someone will criticize me. Someone will get upset, and someone will not like what I do. Because it is not possible to make everybody like me, even more if I am creating something personal and unique, that says a lot about me.
This is all part of the game, and I have to live with it, if I want to do something and to get my hands dirty. Just like everybody else. Just like you.
The second quote by Aristotle is what I will repeat myself in those moments of doubt, and I am sure that it can help you too, when you should suddenly feel overwhelmed or worried.
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.
Aristotle
After so many changes and so many months of silence in a world where new content gets published every single day or sometimes more than once per day, I am back because - according to the good old Aristotle - the only thing that defines me as a blogger is my will to blog and to stick to it, to actually write and publish what I think can help and empower other people, or what can make someone smile. And I am in for it.
So here I am, "dancing in the rain" with you again, and willing to do that repeatedly and consistently.
Like no one, but you, is watching
This one is for Luca, the best polar bear that a girl could ever have as a friend.
Tags: Blogging, Writing, Motivation, Being consistent, Show don't tell, Showing up, Aristotle, Quotes
Tags: Blogging, Writing, Motivation, Being consistent, Show don't tell, Showing up, Aristotle, Quotes
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