I had an experience this week where I was running late and almost out of gas. Reservations weren’t made at my final destination, and there was an hour-and-a-half wait. So I decided to grab dinner elsewhere. But then I couldn’t move my car because the ticketing system for parking was glitching. On top of all that, a woman forgot her card in the slot to pay for parking, so I felt the need to find her on Facebook and inform her that her card was missing. These are usually the series of events that will make me question my entire existence, but getting comfortable in the process means that you start to understand that everything happens for a reason.
These hiccups are necessary even though they suck in the moment. As a perfectionist, I don’t enjoy these moments, but it’s always mind over matter. I had to have a “woosah” with myself and gather my thoughts, but once I gained control of them, I ended up having a spontaneous night that I hadn’t had since my early twenties. These nuances are a common part of the journey and are necessary for growth. Mistakes have to happen to evolve.
I pay attention to detail and put patterns together from there. Sometimes, I wish I could turn my brain off, but it doesn’t work like that. One of the things that I’m learning is that there is no big picture without the minor details. You don’t just paint the muse all at once and produce an Edvard Munch masterpiece. The smallest and most insignificant thing can create a totally different outcome; it’s essential to the outcome. It’s one thing to achieve something, but it’s a different ballgame to be able to sustain it and even crazier to make it multiply. This is why it’s important to get comfortable in the mundane, in the tasks that are no fun, in the days that bring no immediate reward. The rainbow comes after the rain.
Even though it may seem insignificant now, each day contributes to your future self. Discipline and consistency will never backfire. I have to make a constant effort to set the tone for my day as delayed gratification is something that we don’t always have to practice in 2024. I mean Amazon Prime can have your favorites delivered in a couple of hours, chatbots can resolve your issues in under 10 minutes, and streaming services allow you to never have to see an ad or wait another week for the drama to unfold. However, the time and space it takes to build something beautiful make it more meaningful to witness the magic. The growth and lessons achieved by rolling with the punches set you up for something greater.
Unrelated, but I had a conversation last week about how I am trying to break away from coffee and delayed gratification was the takeaway from that as well. I recently had a friend tell me that drinking coffee on an empty stomach can potentially lead to stomach ulcers. At the moment, the caffeine is giving me a temporary energy boost but the long-term effects are the most important. No quick fix is worth sacrificing my health in the future, so I need to make the necessary changes now to pour into the woman I want to be 20 years from now. You can play now and work hard later or you can work hard now and party hard later. Planning and thinking things through with clear details will always be better than satisfying the present wants. Those wants are guaranteed to change anyway so why even succumb to them? Which quality of life would you prefer? Life is about choices, sí?
Reflection Points:
- I asked a few questions throughout this post, so what are your thoughts?
- Do you take the hiccups as a sign or try to focus on the lesson of it all?
- Do you prefer immediate or delayed gratification? Is it easy for you to lock in and focus on your greater good?