Aleksandra Galert's Blog: I'm thinking about... - Posts Tagged "goals"

How many of you have a dream? Probably many. How many of you make it come true? Probably not that many. Why? Well, probably you like your couch too much. Or your work. Or anything else. Let’s say you have a dream. You’re sitting on your couch thinking: ‘No, today I won’t start doing it because:
1) I’m tired
2) It’s too expensive
3) It’s raining
4) My dog needs me
5) My husband has two left hands and can’t cook
6) I can as well start it next week when I have more time’.

How many excuses can you invent? Probably endless numbers. And the whole thing is about moving your ass.

Have you ever noticed that when you stay home, bored on your couch, you actually don’t feel good at all? Compare it to the feeling when you achieve some goal, even if it’s just making a call or asking a stranger for a photo. You see what I mean? That’s a good start.

Have you ever watched Masterchef? I’ll use this example, because I love it. I especially recommend you watching the Junior Masterchef. Those kids are amazing! Their passion for cooking and joy of life are endless! For me, they are an inspiration. Watching them, in my mind I always see my cousin, who is their age and who doesn’t have any hobby. She spends all days long by her computer and repeats like a broken CD: ‘I’m bored’. Well, of course you are. And although she’s doing nothing (which theoretically is the favorite ‘action’ of most people) and those kids from Junior Masterchef are spending hours and hours in the kitchen, practicing for many years, we all know who is happier.

Sometimes I think I have too many hobbies and often I don’t know on which to focus. But then I’m happy as I remind myself of many of my colleagues telling me: ‘You’re so lucky, because you found what you love to do.’ I’m not lucky. I’m just active, curious of the world and trying new possibilities. Meaning? Something everybody can do if only they move their ass.

I believe everybody can find sth they truly love doing and achieve something great in it. But awards don’t come for nothing. I have read that to become a master in something, you should spend 10 000 hours on doing that. Yes, the number of zeroes is correct. It is a lot of time! And you won’t be able to spend so much of it on doing something unless you truly love it. So, for example, if you’re unable to get up at 4 am to catch the perfect light, carry heavy equipment, spend hours in the cold waiting for one, ideal shot or drive many kilometers to find what you want – photography is not your passion.

It happens that somebody achieves a huge success at the very first try. Beginner’s luck. But I am not jealous of such people. Even more, I feel sorry for them. Because after a massive success, there probably will come a huge frustration and disappointment, as they won’t be able to repeat such an achievement, because they’re not prepared and don’t have enough skills yet. On a film festival I’ve met a guy whose one of his first videos scored 1 million Youtube views in just a week. And he had this fear if his next video will be as good as the previous one. The pressure he felt was too much for him.

When you watch the Masterchef Final or the Oscars, you think ‘Wow!’. You want to feel like that, like achieving the Mount Everest in your category, like feeling unbeatable, being in euphoria. And imagine that this how you imagine this feeling is nothing comparing to the real feeling itself. And you can taste it one day. The problem is that watching great victories, for example the sport ones, we don’t see the countless hours of practicing, tears, sweat, failure and disappointment that were present on the way to victory. But this is what the learning process is all about.

So why is it better to move your ass? I’ll answer you with a question: What do you prefer? To be bored, unhappy and complaining about the world or to be active, full of passion and energy while reaching for the stars? Yes, this is what you’re missing when everyday you invent new excuses not to start doing anything.