Hard Things
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I can't believe it's been ten days since my last phlog!  Well, I
can, actually, it's been a long ten days.

But, I mean, it wasn't for lack of desire.  I want to write the
next installment of my little Nim series something fierce.  I've
got the itch to create and an internal pressure to get something
done like steam engine all fired up and ready to go.

But holding up the works is a Big New Exciting Opportunity.

It's a great thing.

But it's also scary as heck.  It involves a lot of steps that are
way outside my comfort zone.

I was looking for some inspiration for overcoming my fears late
last week and I stumbled upon a TED Talk by Tim Ferriss titled
"Why you should define your fears instead of your goals".  [1]

The subject of the talk is Tim's exercise called "fear-setting"
(as in "goal-setting") in which you list your fears - the worst
things that could happen *if you act*.

And then you write out the cost of *inaction*.  What will be the
result if you *don't take action* in 6 months?  1 year?  3 years?

Pretty powerful stuff.

But what I *really* liked were two quotes, both of which seemed
incredibly relevant to my situation.


Quote the First
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First, from everybody's favorite philosophy, Roman Stoicism:

       "We suffer more often in imagination than reality."
               -- Seneca

It's likely you've read that one before.

Most of the bad things I've *imagined* happening have never
actually happened.  Time spent agonizing about making hard choices
is the worst kind of time.

How often have I put down the phone after a dreaded phone call or
driven home after a task and said to myself, "well, that wasn't so
bad."

At the very least, I can always say, "well, at least that's over."


Quote the Second
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The second quote has become my personal mantra over the course of
the last week:

       "Easy choices, hard life.
        Hard choices, easy life."
               -- Jerzy Gregorek

This resonated powerfully with me.

I haven't *always* taken the easy path in life and I don't have an
aversion to hard work or discipline.  But I also have a comfort
zone and I like to stay in it.


Hard choices and adventure
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I'm making some hard choices right now and venturing way outside
my comfort zone for a while.  I plan to come back to my comfort
zone just as soon as I can.

I guess I'm like a Hobbit.  I don't really like *adventure*.  Let
the wizards and dwarves take the big risks and reap the big
rewards.  I'm just fine in my Hobbit hole.  I really am.

I *love* learning and growing and exploring.  You can do all of
those things in relative comfort.

But not *adventure*.

Still, when wizards come calling, every Hobbit must make a hard
choice: go and face uncertainty or stay and live with regret.

Regret sucks.

I've already on my way to the Prancing Pony.

And already I'm looking forward to returning to the Shire to say,
"well, that wasn't so bad," o r, "well, at least that's over."

And then perhaps I will have earned a little bit of easy life.

That Nim Day 5 post is coming just as soon as I get a chance to
write it!

[1] https://youtu.be/5J6jAC6XxAI