Definitions: Challenge and Change

This post is truly an instructional guide for myself that focuses on how to stay motivated and how not to be my own opposing force.

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions (because who does at this point?), but I do constantly set goals for myself in terms of my hobbies, career and mental health. Lately, I’ve been trash in all three areas.

But usually when I find myself making progress in one area, I find that I am not making progress in another. For example, if I am updating this blog like I should be and editing my novel manuscript regularly, I find that it is incredibly difficult to get out of my bed and that I have a hard time encouraging myself. On the other hand, when I feel great about myself and my future, I’m not doing any writing or illustration. I go back and forth pretty often and I wonder why it has to be so hard to feel good and to do the things I need to do.

Though the answer is simple, it is not one that I want to hear: change is hard. It is not supposed to be easy to get things done and maintain your mental health. It is supposed to be a challenge and with challenge comes change.

The true challenge is learning to simultaneously keep an eye on all of these things at once, without sacrificing one for the other. I try to do this by writing reminders in my planner. These can be anything from laying out a to do list in order to make progress on a screenplay to scheduling time to meditate. Actually taking in these reminders and to do lists is difficult, but once again, its supposed to be.

The bottom line: With challenge comes change, but the change is not always equally applied. When outside factors are improving, it does not necessarily mean that inner factors are improving and vice versa.