This year’s big experiment

One of the things I would like to do this year’s is take my blogging, my writing more seriously. I have up until know only seen it as a side issue. This year I want to take it more seriously.

I have many ideas, but one change I am making came about due to a problem.

The first Monday of this year I discovered that my personal computer (PC) wouldn’t start up. I tried a few things but no, it had died.

This was a problem to say the say the least because I do a lot with my PC. Writing, watching videos, DVD, browsing, attending to this blog and playing games.

Although I could do this on a laptop it’s still a major inconvenience.
After getting angry, I had a sudden shift in thought.

‘See it as an opportunity.’

Why not spend some money, reuse some components, and buy a new computer. But this time, have no games installed.

Use this problem as a way to give up on gaming for a year.

Some backstory. I have long played games. So much so that they became a refuge from my fears. But that also meant little changed in my life.
Now I want more. I want to do more with my life and that means giving up on certain things.

By giving up on games I can get to see how well I do without them. I will have more time to do the things I need to do like write, exercise, go out.

So this is my grand experiment. It’s scary because I will have never been without games in my life. By choosing a less capable computer, I will have to do without.
This is not to say playing games is impossible on the rig. But these are the smaller, simpler games that don’t seem to be so immersive and addictive.

I want and perhaps need to do this.
This is because my greatest fear is not having enough courage to realise my dreams. I’m not strong enough to start new things, give up on bad habits and toxic ideas. Take the steps I need to take in order to change and grow.

This is why I have done this.

Because I have a vision of the life I want to lead and I’m not living it now.

To realise this dream will involve hard work. A threat to this dream is distraction. Probably one the greatest threats we face today when it comes to getting stuff done. It’s now so much easier while away time browsing the web, or like me playing games.

This then is part of my endeavour to act more professionally with my writing, and creativity in general.

I will try this experiment for this year and see how I get on. I will get back to you about how it’s going.

Another insight that struck me was how obsessive I became.
Researching was all I did for almost a week and a half, then a three days of ordering components and assembling them.

Little else, writing, exercise go a look in. I only took a break to watch some DVDs and to eat.

Despite the fact I wasn’t doing any work, or perhaps because of it, I enjoyed the process. The last time I studied this much was at college. It’s perhaps this sort of focus that I’m looking for in my work. Just not to such an extreme.

Further still I feel relaxed more. Not sure why. But the lack of work to-do and the fact I’m sitting at lot on the floor may have something to do with it.

I feel more grounded, less rushed. I deliberately slowed down because I knew it was important not to make hasty decisions. Also, I have mom’s laptop, and I gave up on writing for the duration.

The search for a new PC was also fascinating itself. Learned a lot.

What goals do you have for this year? How well are you doing so far?
What problems have you faced that lead you to take a new direction or where you learned something about yourself?
Comment below, I’d like to hear you stories.

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