Walking Out of the Movie Theatre
While I was listening to a friend talk about their life changes, they used a unique reference. I never really thought about this concept, but, they compared changing their course in life to walking out of a movie theatre in the middle of a bad movie. This struck me because I’ve never walked out of a movie. No matter how bad the movie is, I’ve always sat through it thinking, "It will pick up any minute. I’m sure. " only to walk out two-plus hours later, disappointed and aggravated that I wasted so much time and faith on a film that just wasn’t good. I’m the same way with books too. No matter how badly written, how slow, or how un-into it I am, once I start I feel like I have to finish. It’s a shame, right? All that time wasted on something I wasn’t interested in or passionate about.
This could be attributed to my horrible habit of being a completionist. A completionist is someone who completes every single task given to them or that they create for themselves and does not stop until it’s done. In the gaming world, it’s someone who attempts to complete every single task given to them and earns every trophy available. I am not a gamer, but I do attempt to finish everything, and if it’s not completed, it drives me crazy. The number of items we bought for our new house in NYC from Amazon, not because it was the best option, but because it would be delivered the fastest and thus allow me to finish my project, is absurd. Speed and completion are the most important attributes of a task for me. This is not always the most ideal way to look at a situation. Especially when it comes to completing something that I didn’t want to.l start in the first place. Why did I need to finish it, i.e., the movie, the book, the conversation, etc., in the first place?
While I was reflecting on time lost to things I didn't enjoy, I remembered the joy blogging has brought to my life. I know it has been quite some time - almost one whole calendar year - since I last wrote, and I can feel it. Even as I type now, the words sound clunky and don’t come as easily, but that’s OK. I am writing again. This is time well spent.
Several things have changed since we last caught up. Not only do I now live in New York City, I am a mom to a three-month-old little boy. Now that I am a mom, making sure you have time for yourself to spend on things you love is more important than anything. This is kind of ironic given it’s the one thing you never have the chance to spend time on.
At any rate, this means if I start a book and it’s not great, I put it down. There is no time to waste on things that I am not passionate about. Joshua Fields Millburn, one half of the duo The Minimalists, uses the phrase, "Whenever you say "yes" to something unimportant, you’re saying "no" to something important." How true is this? The amount of time that I wasted pushing through movies, books, events, and relationships, that I wasn't happy with kills me to think about. How I wish I could get that time back! How many things are there in your life that you’re pushing through or no longer want to be a part of? These are the things that we have to walk out of. It’s the movie theaters we have to step out of. Yes, the money spent on the ticket won’t get refunded, and yes, some things will be lost in the process. However, the strength it takes to walk away and step into the unknown will lead to the best places. Trust me.
