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Rediscovering Focus
When I started this blog in December of 2009, I was very determined to use it and my other creative pursuits to transition from the traditional 9-to-5 work to supporting myself through my creativity. As the months have passed, that goal has become blurred and I’ve lost the plot somewhat. I was still focused through Mouse’s declining health, but once he had to be put to sleep, my vision started to falter.
I know it’s generally considered weird to be so wracked with grief over the loss of a pet, but like I’ve said before, he was with me through the end of my adolescence, my teenage years, and my 20s. He was always there as a companion to offer comfort when life was less than pleasant, and it was quite a lot throughout those 18 and a half years. Once he was gone, I felt lost.
Also, right before Mouse had to be put to sleep, my employers downsized my department from two employees to one (me). That would have been fine as the workload was manageable at the time that it happened, but then the workload roughly doubled shortly thereafter, leaving me exhausted after work. That was part of the reason I quit going to the gym after work, as I just didn’t have the energy. As it turns out, working out at home before work has yielded better results than the gym as of late, but it also eats up time that could be used to further my creative projects.
I’ve also been focusing a little too much on my investments over the past few months, which is good for the long-term, but I’ve basically been treading water this summer. I finally have my choices set in stone as I’ve researched their long-term stability to a fault, but in shifting around investments a little too much, I’ve effectively neutralized their growth this quarter.
Another thing that’s been slowing down my progress is only releasing songs online and not putting together an album of any sort. This has changed recently as I’m in the process of putting a video game cover album together, but earlier this year with Philistine on the Sidewalk and my self-titled material, I had albums conceptualized (which is something I do a lot), but wasn’t putting in the right work to help make them a reality. Granted, doing all those songs earlier this year really helped me progress towards the general sound I’m going after, which is something that was needed in order to make my upcoming albums altogether better.
What it comes down to is that there were a good number of changes and developments in my life over the past six months, and I likely would have continued to flail a bit without having something to ground myself with. That thing was the day that I last did a blog. On Labor Day, September 6th, I remembered that it was that kind of day that I was working towards. A day where I had the time to work on my creative projects and fitness goals as well as had time to relax and enjoy life.
It’s still going to take a lot of time and work to achieve that goal, but now that I have a fresh and clear example of what I’m working towards, I’m able to clearly focus on what I’m working towards and I know that I will be able to get there.
Discuss this post at the For the Love of Creativity Forum!
Posted on September 11th, 2010.
External Links
• Philistine on the Sidewalk – Philistine on the Sidewalk
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