Not Being Miserable, Part 1

About the series: Not Being Miserable is my ultimate goal, and I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it.  All other goals are pursued solely for the purpose of serving the needs of this ultimate goal.  This series catalogs various insights I have in this area.  Please excuse the mind-diarrhea.

Part 1

What do I need to do to be satisfied?  Tough question.  One of the things you learn as you gain wisdom is that many things are  too complex to be accurately expressed in simple terms.  But inasmuch as it’s possible to sum things up in a word, my latest answer to that question is this:  Create.

Start small.  Begin cataloging your thoughts, insights, musings, ideas, etc.  Write.  Record.  Draw.  Design.  Audio, video, graphics, text, web.  If you look at the careers of people who’ve created something that you find respectable, you’ll usually notice that they’ve been expressing themselves in various forms for some time.  They may have shifted from one form to another as their careers (I hate that word) took them from one medium to another.  For example, a comedian may have in their body of work various books, audio, articles, blogs, stand-up routines, podcasts, radio shows, etc.  At first glance a radio talk show host may seem to have little in common with a stand-up comedian or the author of a book.  But one person could do all three things.  They’re all just different methods of getting their creation out of their brain and into a tangible medium that can be utilized by others.

Don’t forget that creating doesn’t have to be artsy fartsy.  A scientist who expresses a new idea or research findings is creating.  The key is that rather than managing something that’s already there, you’re generating something new with your brain (which certainly includes synthesizing existing stuff).

Now get out there and live, damn it.