Bit of a time warp here. It’s now November 22, 70 days since my last DOG post and/or any structured progress towards completion. What happened?! Let’s have a look.
Is saying I want to finish DOG an articulation of actual desire or merely an affirmation? Certainly I could imagine and even list the benefits of finishing – the spiritual growth, the closure, etc. I’ve certainly detailed what finishing looks like, (here and here) but have I ever discussed how getting DOG done might make me feel? WHY do I want to finish?
Outcomes imply an emotional experience. It’s an if / then statement – if x happens then I’ll get to feel y. If she falls in love with me then I’ll feel ecstatic. The event x becomes an objective that once achieved is experienced as emotion y. Emotion y is motivation, the drive behind scheming on x.
A farty old Austrian suggested we achieve specific goals by delaying gratification, avoiding events that can’t deliver the intensity associated to a target goal. Those who forgo distracting events (control their impulses) are more successful in life – whoo! Freudian dogma not withstanding, delayed gratification is silly. As emotional beings we need to be gratified regularly, there’s no way to delay. Hitting objectives is about rehearsing gratification in the juicy neural holodeck. By associating desired feelings to an imagined outcome, conditional logic replaces transience with an extended immersion. Whether through repetition or squirts of neuro-chemical glamour the simulation becomes much bigger and brighter than RL. It’s about tasting the experience now – even if it’s years away. Maybe once we become savants of the virtual, having swooped and swirled every nuance of the possible, the RL outcome can’t help but manifest, (with a nod to the cosmic overlay). Or we get fitted for a straightjacket.
Previewing is gratification in the here and now. Rehearsal, practice. To get DOG done, the emotional experience of completion needs to be articulated and then placed in plain sight. Are there any posts relating to my completion feelings? How about entries buried in the archive? Whether yay or nay, talking about Why is clearly the next step. Detailing my experience with distractions might be edifying too – eg misguided monogamy and erotic adventures with 30 somethings. Stay tuned. Once Why is sorted out, picking up and hanging with the plan will be automatic.
Digression about the song ‘Everything I do I do to get laid’.
Ok so completing DOG means getting laid. Wait, wait… let’s establish the protocol with a more family friendly aspect.
Why do I want to finish this movie, Daughter of God? As my first significant independent effort it’s both loaded with mistakes and brimming with flashes of brilliance. I’d like to be proud of it’s final incarnation, but I would accept not flinching when I screen it for an audience. There’s a persistent intuition – if I can find the right approach, I could pull a sleek silver rabbit out of this moth eaten top hat.
That’s almost a why, here’s the rest – If I pulled a rabbit out of this hat I’d feel – ingenious, competent and magical.
There’s a demonstration of the protocol. The job is to describe all aspects of the completion event and their associated emotions. What about NOT completing DOG, how does that make me feel? Probably some surprises there, also worthy of full consideration. Is keeping DOG incomplete desirable? What other outcomes (goals achieved, distractions and practice) provide a reliable rush?
So here’s the blueprint.
Why do I want to get DOG done?
What might happen to me then?
How will that make me feel?
Am I ok having these feelings?
Is there anything I rather do than get DOG done?
What might happen to me then?
How does that make me feel?
Am I ok having these feelings?
What goals have I achieved?
How does that make me feel?
What has distracted me?
How does that make me feel?
What is my consistent practice?
How does that make me feel?