Carve Out Some Solo Time. Make a List Of Three Things You Really Want In The Next 3 – 5 Years. Then Look At Your Calendar And Your Social Media Feed.

Hi Friend,

The other day, I momentarily caught myself wishing I could be that person who spends her days raising chickens, cooking gorgeous meals, and wrapping Instagram-worthy gifts for my friends.

A lovely fantasy in the moment—but the reality is that I don’t actually want to do a SINGLE ONE of these things.

I would much rather learn about what’s going on with ChatGPT and how it will affect my work.

I’d rather help a CEO craft a talk that melts the faces off an audience than perfect my bone broth recipe.

And I’d WAYYYYY rather deliver a high voltage keynote than wrap a birthday gift.

The question is … why was I wishing for things I don’t actually want?

According to the brilliant book Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis, I was wishing for all of those things because I was seeing all of those things in my Instagram feed.

It turns out, humans are *mimetic* creatures. We want whatever everyone else is wanting.

Which means that we need to be VERY conscious and careful about where we spend our time and what we allow into our consciousness. It also means that we have to carve out time to be alone with our thoughts, emotions, and dreams.

Your thought experiment for the week is this:

Carve out some solo time.

Make a list of three things you really want in the next 3 – 5 years.

Then look at your calendar and your social media feed.

Is your time being spent on activities that get you closer to the life you’re after? Do you have enough solo time built into your schedule so you can hear yourself think? Desire? Dream?

If so, rock on … you’re on your way.

If not, how might you carve out that sacred space, and surround yourself with activities and people and content that line up with real desires?

As Eminem said, “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance …”

It’s just this one life. Let’s give it all we’ve got.

Shine on,
B