New year, 2024. The start of a new year inspires people to make resolutions. Many new people are signing up at the gym, and students are going to the library to study, all full of enthusiasm.
I also want to live better in the new year, but I am stuck on the ‘what and how?’ part.
I have been searching for something great, something that I can achieve and accomplish when I have the perfect conditions, tools, and opportunity.
In my life, I have learned that the perfect time never comes. I have wasted time trying to prepare for it instead of getting started.
Heejae Jung’s book, ‘Living, Loving, and Learning in the City,’ contains a passage that illustrates this point.
While helping her mother in the fields one summer, the author began by taking on one furrow at a time, just like her mother. However, before long, her mother had already surpassed her.
“Mum, when are you going to finish this big field of beans?”
That’s when Mum said.
“Hey, it’s because your eyes are lazy.”
I took her advice to heart and worked harder. It was a valuable lesson.
While working in the bean patch, my mother noticed that I was struggling and told me that my eyes were lazy. She explained that the human eye can be easily intimidated by the tasks ahead, but I shouldn’t be fooled by it.
To see progress, look at the whole picture. However, the idea of the whole can be overwhelming.
If you feel overwhelmed, focus on what you need to do today. What you did or didn’t do counts, not whether it was perfect. Remember, something done is better than nothing.
In fact, even when I started this blog, my eyes were lazy. In order to use WordPress, I needed knowledge of basic servers, PHP, and some simple coding. I hadn’t even moved yet, and my eyes were already glazing over. I was worried about mobile responsiveness, how to make the site look responsive, whether I could modify the CSS, and there was so much to do.
But I started anyway, and I moved, and I made a mistake in a file and blew up the site once, and I haven’t gotten a pretty skin on my blog yet, but my blog is rolling.
Just do it.
Max