Everyone makes goals for themselves. Some are large, some are small, and some are bullshit. (For an example of bullshit, I refer to New Year’s Eve resolutions loudly proclaimed by inebriated yoyo’s that know they’ll pussy out within the week. Wiser heads play their cards close to the vest.)
I endeavor to skip the bullshit and earnestly chase personally defined awesomeness. I suspect my readers are of a similar bent. A fortunate subset of us muster the time, skills, resources, grit, determination, and (grudgingly accepted) luck to reach our ambitions. Since nothing real is gained without risk of failure, success is never a sure thing. When we succeed, it’s a proper time to celebrate.
All of this is a strange way of saying I just had an achievement accomplished moment. Despite providing no specifics, I’m blogging about that joyous emotion. I’m somewhere between pleased and stoked. Can y’all feel it?
If I’m over generalizing it’s because things I do “off blog” are generally kept there.* An unfortunate side effect is stilted language. Please forgive me.
I never know if success will be as sweet as I anticipate. Sometimes my pursuits kick my ass. This spring I handled a physical challenge poorly and, despite nominal success, it handed me my shattered spirit on a platter. I succeeded but at a high cost.
This recent event was a vastly less physical and far more mental challenge. I “leveled up” without drama or injury. Yay! Then, in keeping with my own admonition to myself, I went on a walkabout. Here’s my quote from several months ago:
If you’re going to push it, prepare an end game.
That’s precisely what I did. Before doing my thing and especially after I spent an appropriate time sipping coffee by the campfire. Nothing is quite so recuperative as sitting by a campfire. Also, since this was a purely personal goal, I had a bit more control. I altered plans and schedules as needed; which is right and proper. In fact, there’s “push it” in a positive sense and “push it” in a negative sense. The English language has words for both; “distress” and “eustress“. It says a lot about our culture that we all know the word distress but even my spell check can’t figure out eustress. It’s a shame! The two sides make the whole. We shouldn’t have allowed ourselves to lose eustress. Regardless, I endeavor to wisely discriminate between them. This time, thankfully, I got it right!
I accomplished what I set out to do. It took well over a year to get to this particular goal. But I handled it properly. I was fully prepared so that I could walk up to my personal goal, take a good look at the metaphysical finish line, and stride across that motherfucker like I own the world. Chalk up a happy moment for the Curmudgeon!
When I was sure of what I’d done, I quickly sat down and chilled by the campfire. Others have done far greater things than I. My little “hobbies” are of small import. Etcetera. No need to let the Gods sense my hubris and squash me like a bug. It’s a complex balancing act to allow yourself earned pride without opening to door to hubris. I may never be wise enough to invariably thread that needle. I try. I hope this post doesn’t indicate my immaturity.
At any rate, I’m still taking “time off” from my blog. It may be a few more days before I get back into the groove. In the meantime, if you’re pursuing your own goals, I’ll hoist a brew in your honor. Good luck folks.
A.C.
*This may change in time. It depends on if I get motivated to write it up.