Musing #14 : Setbacks & Hangups (3 min)
Sunday Updates:
I am preparing to focus on the rewrite and revision of the novel next week now that I finally have a new outline. Probably first of many.
I'm very happy that this novel process is becoming less of a self-imposed pressure cooker and more of a slow burn of personal transformation.
Speaking of which, I found this thing I made out of thread more than five years ago. That was way before this blog had even existed. It is now a reminder for me to keep going everyday.
Thread gumption art, circa 2017
#14 : Setbacks & Hangups
Meet your two Gumption Traps.
A setback is your house burning down,
A hang up is thinking you can't rebuild it.
A setback is your boss being racist,
A hang up is you not believing that you are worthy.
A setback is a torn ligament in your knee,
A hangup is not giving it time to heal.
A setback is a heavy workload,
A hangup is not saying No.
A setback is your shitty coworker that claims everything is her own,
A hangup is you letting her get away with it.
A setback is a flashing car in the night,
A hangup is being frozen in place with terror.
A setback is a hurricane,
A hangup is your lack of provisions.
A setback is a friend betraying you,
A hangup is hanging out with him again.
A setback is your father hitting you,
A hangup is you seeking his approval again and again.
A setback is your wife cheating on you,
A hangup is you trying to do the same.
A setback is diluted and watery coffee,
A hangup is not learning how to make your own.
A setback is being admitted to the hospital,
A hangup is continuing the habits that led you there.
A setback is a stop sign from life,
A hangup is believing it.
A setback is your epigenetic make up,
A hangup is refusing to deal with your traumas.
A setback is a damn pay-cut,
A hangup is not finding another paycheck.
A setback is my content being rejected,
A hangup is not writing everyday because of that.
A setback is your kid screaming at you in public,
A hangup is feeling embarrassed by that.
A setback is a lack of fairness,
A hangup is not speaking up against it.
A setback is fear,
A hangup is letting it get to you.
A setback is failing in a career path,
A hang up is not seeing that it is not yours to begin with.
A setback is being evicted,
A hangup is freaking out about it.
A setback is a boring book,
A hangup is thinking you have to read it.
A setback is life's slippery ballroom,
A hangup is the dance you've always done.
A setback is a bag of sour lemons,
A hangup is not juicing the fuck out of it.
What thoughts came up for you?
I love this, Omar. I love the handmade gumption design the most. Orion is visiting today and brought up Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I didn’t make the connection to gumption until I saw that cool thing.
Great and relevant post here. Between what we can't and can control. Well, it's not as simple as being able to control our hangups, but these are the areas where we have agency. Our shadows will put us in hang-up auto-pilot. Mindfulness is our only hope in slowing that process down enough to start adding some detour signs.