This is a confession and affirmation, not a political rant.
But politics greased my slippery slope, so if you are sick of anything
political, skip now to the comments and tell me something good about your day
today.
I have been off my game for nearly a year, and I have only
myself to blame. Oh, I could be like many of our current leaders and point
fingers in this direction and that: To Republicans for choosing a candidate
whose personal behavior and hateful statements go against so many of the moral
values I believe in. To Democrats for treating the electorate as if their
candidate had a divine right to inhabit the Oval Office. To people on the right
and left using ad hominem attacks instead of engaging in discussions based on a
complete set of facts (and not using cherry-picked sets of words to imply a
different meaning from the one actually conveyed). I could do that, and yet I
would be wrong.
The only piece of that narrative I can control is choosing
how I react to these and similar events.
In July and August and September and October I fussed and
fumed and spent inordinate amounts of time keeping track of the political news
and fake news and non-news as it was shouted and pontificated by everyone,
everywhere. I read news articles and blogs and watched far too much television
relating to the election. I checked my online news feeds multiple times a day.
When I hit a spot in my writing where I wasn’t sure what I
wanted to say or whether the verb I had used was the best choice, I’d slip away
and check the latest news or deal with the few emails that had come in since
the last time I checked.
Seven months after the election, I’m still easily distracted
and spending way too much time keeping track of political news and fake news
and non-news, still checking online news feeds multiple times a day.
Well, enough of that! I declared June 1 the beginning of Take Back Jim’s Life. I know, how lame
is it to label the regaining of one’s own life? But, we all know an effective advertising
campaign can do wonders for sales. And changing one’s behavior is a personal sales
job.
So be warned, siren song of news headlines: you’ll only have
a chance to catch me once in the morning and maybe again at night. I’m sure my
email program will miss our constant interactions, but it will get used to
receiving my attention only before or after I start a project. I’ve already
blocked politics from my Facebook feed (although it’s not a perfect filter).
These are all little steps, for sure, but they are all
addressing my desire to regain a state of living deliberately, of taking
control of those things I can, and letting go of those things I can’t control.
Thanks for allowing me to share my confession of losing my
way and my first step to taking control.
