In the last couple of weeks, it’s been driven home to me how little control I have over my own life. Decisions that other people make, lives other people have lived, things other people say – all of them impact my life, and I have no control over it at all. Even if I bear no direct responsibility or have no power in the situation, the waves from the actions and judgments of others ripple out into the pool of life and rock my little canoe. I guess that’s just the way life is.
It seems to me that I can have two responses to this. One is to try to escape from the effects of others. I can hide in my computer and play my games or surf the net. I can read books until 3:00 am and then go to work with only two hours of sleep. I can eat incorrectly and drug myself out on sugar and carbs. I can sleep my life away.
This, to be honest, is my normal response when I feel helpless and my life seems to be out of my control. I float away and wake up later to realize that another year is gone. But now quite a bit of my life has floated down that stream and soon there won’t be that many years left for me to wake up.
Plus it doesn’t work anyway. I may want to float away, I may wish I could drift, but the waves still rock me. And I accomplish nothing.
The other response is to control what I can. And what I can control are my own actions and reactions. I can try to take my life back.
So I’m trying to set some clear-cut goals. I’ve set goals before, and even met a few of them, but I’ve never approached my goals as strategies for my life. I’m going to try to do that – I’m going to try to know what I want to do, why I want to do it, and how I’m going to implement it.
The implementation part is the bitch, because drifting away on my little canoe seems to be so much easier.
Even though it’s really not.
But I don’t want my life to drift away from me anymore. I don’t want to wake up in 2012 and realize all I have to show for the last couple of months is a well developed Sim.
I’d rather have a well-developed Betsy instead.
So I guess that means I’ll be setting some clearly defined and well-thought-out goals.
God help me.
Excellent post. I find myself in similar situations. I’d love to play an online fantasy game, for example, but I don’t because they take too much time and I don’t have enough of that as it is. To help me write every day, I’ve decided to do nanowrimo, except I’ll be working on a novella, instead, with a 500 word daily goal. Wanna join me? I even wrote a blog on this today.
@Tia Nevitt: Hey, you know nanowrimo might be a good idea – but I’m determined to finish a book I’ve been working on and I think you’re supposed to start something new. Maybe I can pretend… 😀
I sympathize…you can do it!
@Michelle B.: Thanks, kid! You can do it too! We are strong, creative women! Um…Yeah! LOL
great post!!!!!
@Laryn: Get out of that canoe! LOL
WOW how did you get in to my little world I call my brain 🙂 Hiding from life just seems so much easier 🙂 I know use to do it often, but I got some really good drugs going on! LOL seriously I totally get what you are saying and good for you!!!! Sometimes the hardest things to do are the best things for us. That just means when we reach those goals they will be all that much enjoyable 🙂 and if all else fails call me and I will berate you in to shape! Just kidding!
@Doris: I know – setting goals are okay, but actually implementing them can be a real bitch. Can I play Sims AND have a real life? Can I?
BTW – the short answer to that is – “no” LOL