Things You Can, Should and Must Do
There is a difference between things you CAN do, things you SHOULD do and things you MUST do.
You CAN for instance, chose where you live. What you do for work. People you associate with, date, marry. How well, or not, you treat yourself.
You SHOULD chose to live in a place that brings you comfort and joy. Whether a pitched tent in the woods, a boat, a house in the country, an apartment in the city or a bunk in a commune, the physical environment doesn’t matter so long as it suits your needs. Find a corner of the Universe that is yours to decorate and dwell, and invite over people you love, cook delicious food, tend a garden — rooftop or acres or a single potted tomato plant. (Wait, this is my place.)
You SHOULD chose to do work that feeds your soul and makes you happy. Do work that feels like play, if at all possible. Do work that at the end of the day makes you satisfied and exhausted in such a good way that you will want to repeat it tomorrow and the next day and the next. You’ll spend many hours doing work over your lifetime and if you go there every day grudgingly, hating it, dying inside until Friday, what’s the point? No amount of money is worth your unhappiness and dissatisfaction.
It’s okay to take a job or jobs, in order to support a lifestyle that leaves time to do the work you love. Consider this a means to the end to pursue a hobby or go back to school or focus on Act 2.
You SHOULD associate with people who elevate and complement you (not necessarily COMPLIMENT you and your ego). Understand that not everybody will love you, or like you, or tolerate your very existence. And that’s fine. Different strokes, right? Maybe get a dog, or a cat, or a horse or a gaggle of geese if human interaction is your struggle.
Avoid the negative cads and zealots. They are generally humorless and will over time suck the life blood out of you. Accept, too, that people ebb and flow in your life, like the tide. Invite them in, be willing to let them go. Be as good a friend and support to the people you associate with as they are to you.
Here’s what you MUST DO: You MUST take care of your body, your mind and your inner spirit. If you won’t do this, who will? You’ll need the discipline and strength of all three to carry you through during the times you lose your way, overindulge, trip and falter over the things you CAN and SHOULD do.
BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!
Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio