Some Advice: Fill Your Week with Carrots
Always look forward to something
(Quick note: my newest book, Suddenly I was a Shark! My Time with What Remains of Edith Finch is now available for purchase. Or, if you become a paid subscriber to this newsletter, you get the book for FREE, along with most of my other books and essays)
A friend keeps a bag of brand-new, unworn socks at the ready. When she knows a tough day is ahead of her, she breaks out new socks. Rather than dread the challenging day ahead, she looks forward to the feeling of new socks. We all love the feeling of new socks. Admit it. It’s a pleasure you never fully thought about until just now. I’ve taken to keeping a stash of emergency feel-good socks myself.
I’ve long said, the only thing better than finishing a great video game is starting a new video game.
Every Saturday morning begins the best day of my week. I visit the coffee shop, do some writing there, then head to the cigar lounge for some reading, and finally I do a few hours of bouldering at the climbing gym.
Having something to look forward to makes any bad day, any mid-game slog, or any tough week feel like nothing more than a passing speed bump.
Today, right now, is the beginning of my best day. I’m sitting at the coffee shop, sipping a black cold brew, writing this post. This, all while looking forward to the climbing to come; even on this best day, I reserve a prize on the horizon.
My advice to you (if I can be so brash as to offer unsolicited advice…though, I suppose you did see the words “some advice” in the title, so, yeah, it’s your fault): identify the small things that bring you happiness and build your life around them. Use those small things as carrots to keep you moving forward (this analogy is especially relevant if carrots bring you happiness).
Do you have a particular dinner you look forward to? Make it every day. Seriously. As long as the meal won’t introduce unhappiness (ex, gastrointestinal angst or general unhealth), then make it. Every. Day. I’ve gone months in a row eating chorizo and eggs every single day for dinner.
Find a beefy video game with a loop you can fall into. For me, my current carrot is Assassin’s Creed Odessey.
Look forward to the morning by going to bed early. Seriously, try it. It’s amazing how much less you will dread the morning when you don’t wake up feeling like tired garbage.
At work, find the small things you enjoy. And don’t be afraid to admit what brings you happiness. For example, I enjoy the immediate satisfaction of cleaning shelves. In my earlier, grocery store employment days, I always volunteered to clean. My coworkers thought I was weird.
Today, at my desk job, I look forward to helping others solve their spreadsheet problems. I hunt for ways to help. Then, I schedule meetings throughout the week. My goal is to, every day, have a spreadsheet problem-solving meeting with a coworker.
When enough carrots are dangled, the week becomes all optimism.
Monday morning’s new socks become Monday afternoon’s spreadsheet-fest becomes Monday’s happy drive home becomes Monday’s chorizo and eggs becomes Monday evening’s Assassin’s Creed Odessey becomes Monday night’s round of video game podcasts as I drift to sleep becomes Tuesday’s repeat, and Wednesday’s, and Thursday’s, and Friday’s (which is the Ur-carrot of the week), becomes my glorious all day Saturday carrot becomes Sunday’s more rock climbing (this time with my two kids), becomes Sunday evening’s Many a True Nerd’s Fallout episode, becomes Monday’s new socks.
So, go ahead, decorate your entire week with carrots.
Top image credit: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/carrot-socks