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  • Writer's pictureNicholas Fagen

Rough Draft(s)

Updated: Mar 15, 2023

Recall a split-second you dreadfully & sincerely wondered to yourself:

"How will I ever get over this?"

Whatever "this" stands for in your unique story...


We've all had similarly lonesome instances where a trusted confidante somehow unbelievably could not have felt any further away 😔


But you're still here...are you not? 👀

Absolutely, you are! 100% 👊🏼


As Dr. Joe Dispenza says:

"We are defined by our adversity."

As Marie Forleo says:

"Everything is figureoutable."

As Dr. Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt said in her 2023 release Badass Stories:

"Imagine if your story was written by somebody else.
Wouldn't you find some level of admiration or even inspiration?"

I know that I would! How about you, reader? 🤔


Through strenuous breakups, powerful grief, influential feuds, livelihood hardships, and/or monetary struggles, we've all ignorantly learned a distinct lesson (at one point or another) that life isn't as certain as we tend to assume


Life is a rough draft ✏️


Or rather...a series of rough drafts 🗓️

 
"Even the careless driver who cut you off in traffic feels unsettlingly worried, uncomfortably anxious or unbearably distracted about a particular person, place or thing 🚙
We ALL have minds evidently plagued by a prevalent, well-known thought, often one of our own making 💭
One that we’d wish nearly anything away to be able to entirely ignore 👋🏼"
 

Sure...it would feel indescribably marvelous to know the destination of your journey(s) prior to setting out on them...wouldn't it?

Realistically...how much of your growth would you be squandering entirely for a mere sense of avoiding a bit of uncomfortable confrontation? 🤔

Trust me, I hate that I'm saying it too...but ⬇️


A complicated life is still worth feeling immense gratitude over ❤️


For example, the juggernaut of a job market is nearly impossible to navigate these days 😩


I recently discovered that the job market today is worse than it's been in over 50 years.


Every time I visit LinkedIn, I swear every post on my feed is captioned with #layoffs or #opentowork ❤️‍🩹


But! 👇🏼


That doesn't mean we should give up and simply settle, right?


Positives are repeatedly hidden within negatives if you keep your chin up & eyes open 👀


Keep in mind that I've had a bit of experience in this arena.


(Skip past this tiny section to hear less about me 👇🏼)

 

In my case, if I weren't laid off back in early 2022, I would've never:

  • Launched a freelance career

  • Failed (a lot) before flourishing

  • Redesigned my website front-to-back

  • Crafted a vast portfolio featuring new references

  • Set time aside to write personally & professionally

  • Earned certifications in digital and promotional marketing tactics

And of course, the most important:

  • Lost 30+ pounds 💪🏼

  • Inscribed 2nd Edition's for grateful loved ones 💖

  • Took up DJing as a delightfully challenging hobby 🎶

  • Caught up on every favorite show, book, and series 📺

  • Spent precious moments with family, friends, and doggos 🐶

 

If you know me, you know of a literal lifetime of working toward the ability to compliment myself, though that's not our focus today ⬇️


As Jay Shetty notes in his 2020 release Think Like a Monk:

"We are defined by the narrative that we write for ourselves every day."

Powerful, huh? 👏🏼


My question to you, reader, is this:


How are you talking to yourself?


In your pending rough draft(s), what vocabulary are you using in conversations with you?


Jay Shetty continues: ⬇️

"We say things to ourselves that we would never say to people we love.
We all know the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
To that I would add: Treat yourself with the same love and respect you want to show others."

I'll be the first to admit that I can be awfully crude to myself.


I wish that weren't the truth, but it is. I'm improving, though 📈


In all seriousness, many of us fit all too easily into these vile shoes 👟


Other than continuously outting myself again & again (at the expense of a timid childhood personality of reputable secrecy and modesty), the only real way for us (as a collective group) to revel in satisfaction is to eye ourselves in the mirror and ask:


"What am I writing in my rough draft(s)?" ✏️


And thoroughly remember that...they're rough drafts! 👍🏼


They won't be published until long after we've departed this planet 🌎

 

Dive deep & indulge me for a second:


Let's get serious.


Step into the shoes of your past self 👞


Visualize 3-5 moments (in your lifetime) that felt legitimately insurmountable. The conceivable idea to conquer these forgotten milestones of the past were once a dreamy, unrealistic fairytale.


It would've felt like less of a fantasy to conquer Everest ⛰️


Have you ever sat down and wholly revisited these terrifying seconds that you've willingly blocked out of your memory bank? (Unless, of course, that's just me? 😅)


My stubborn conscience refused to reminisce on occasions when I wholeheartedly didn't like the person that I was whatsoever. It's sad, though transparently true.


But if I willingly ignore times overflowing with insecurity, self-doubt, and swarms of unmanageable worry? What exactly am I left with? How does one take note of progress without a notable starting point? 📈


That's the thing...they cannot.

 

The past is unchangeable & the future is unknowable.


The present is a sequence of countless unending opportunities to reinvent yourself (using the inspiringly dynamic duo: the context of the past plus the achievable promise of the future) ✨


Allow me to rephrase my point a different way:


Say you're happily married in 2023.


Bravo! Cheers! Hats off to you 🎩


Wind the clocks back 5-10 years, however...


You haven't met your lovable partner just yet.


Instead, you're in a relationship with someone else 🫢

Perhaps cringey to revisit, but assuredly worth it 👌🏼


Trust me, we're not calling or texting anyone today ❌


But stick with me here...⬇️


Believe it or not, this person brought value into your life (and continues to do so!) 😳


Let me explain ⬇️


This is the human being who displayed the future of what you're romantically in search of 🔍


Without them, you may halt the development of your personality significantly! After all, how do you learn the right one without experiencing the wrong one?


Every experience you endure/enjoy is part of the journey 😊


That journey is what made you!


As Oprah famously said:

"No experience is ever wasted, everything has meaning."

On top of that, she added:

"Everything that is happening to you is being drawn into your life as a means to help you evolve into who you were really meant to be here on Earth."

Everything is a matter of perspective 🧠


Hollywood provides countess examples of this 🎥


Rocky could've called it quits after Apollo squandered his reputation to the press 🥊


Eminem could've fled into self-pity and never appeared at the final battle 🎤


Luke could've been too distraught to take on Vader after losing Ben 🚀


Simba could've used overwhelm to turn a blind eye to Pride Rock 🦁


We could go on for days but here's the point ⬇️


A traffic jam causes distress until you've been laid off.


A layoff feels like a tragedy until you've experienced the loss of a loved one.


A stain on your shirt feels like a disaster until you've just survived a car accident.


A parking ticket feels like a catastrophe until you've endured heartbreak from a breakup.


Again, we could go on for days, but I'll cut us all some slack 👊🏼


After all, none of us have it figured out, am I right? 😅

If I could hit you with a friendly piece of advice before you go...


It'd be to kick off your morning in the best way possible ☀️


Ultimately, mornings are the essential building blocks to the mindsets we construct throughout our day 💡


Mornings become afternoons, afternoons become evenings 🌙


Therefore, they're more like the kickstart to our entire life 🦵🏼


Find what works for your mornings & stick to it 🌞


Can't figure it out? It'll come to you 😎

Until then, Bon Voyage! Thanks for reading along 🙂


Keep track of your rough draft(s) 😊


And above all, be kind (to others and yourself!) 💕

 
"What if kindness were our currency? 💰
... life can throw you some of the highest highs and lowest lows within a matter of months, weeks, or days.
...life holds a distinctly melancholy role of controlling the tempo & tone of how we tend to carry ourselves, with the ability to surprise you with effortless smiles at any given second 😌
How do you want your story to end? 🤔
After all, it’s not a final draft until it’s over" ✨
 

Everyone's rough draft is messy 💡


That's what makes life beautiful 💖


We're all just trying our best 😌

But until next time...

I'll be posting again real soon 😊


❤️ 🧡 💙 💚 💜

❤️ 🧡 💙 💚 💜

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