💌 How to take 100% ownership of your situation
On shifting your thoughts, focusing is a skill, falling in love with your dream life
Hello hello!
I'm finally back in Toronto, resetting from the weeks of travel I had in the past two months.
One of the things that's long overdue for me is doing my finance check. So last week, I spent my whole Tuesday doing my finances as a self-employed nurse/creator/writer.
I needed to know where my money went or if I made any money, and how to organize my different income streams (i.e., nursing, freelancing, creatorship, Airbnb, etc.).
In all of these categories, I was now responsible for putting away the appropriate taxes and ensuring that I was making some money.
I know you feel my pain, if you’re a creator and/or self-employed.
Fortunately, I'm net positive for travel nursing but very negative as a creator. Although, I made a decent amount earlier this year as a freelance writer.
Ideally, I want my creator journey to make the most money, but that's quite hard these days. So, for now, I'll take this win.
But I digress.
Doing my finances has always been a painful process.
Last Tuesday, I started to have thoughts like:
"Remember how easy it was when you didn't have to do your own taxes? Maybe you should try to find a full-time job?"
"This is so annoying. I can't believe that I need to do this. I could be writing or editing my video right now."
Just from these two thoughts, there's a hint of entitlement and want-to-give-up energy.
And because I believe that our thoughts create our reality, I chose to think "differently."
This thinking of "thoughts create our reality" came from a mindset coach from a podcast called, Unf*ck your brain.
She teaches the CTFAR model when it comes to shifting your mindset to get the results that you want in life
It goes like this:
So if I wanted a different feeling, I needed to create a new thought or think differently. It won't be easy if it's your first time hearing this.
But since I've been doing thought work for a while now (this is what the podcast host calls the process of changing your thoughts to create a different feeling), I could come up with a "new" thought on the spot.
Old thought: "I hate doing my finances. I should get a job so I don't have to do my taxes."
New thought: "I'm here now because I chose this lifestyle. I chose to give up my job to pursue a more freedom-lifestyle. And this is one of the consequences. No one said it'll be easy. And in fact, I always have a choice to return to a job. But do I really want to do that?"
The answer always leads back to a no.
So I suck up the boring task, but this time, I feel more empowered to do it because I know it's part of the self-employed lifestyle.
The task comes with the lifestyle I’m choosing.
The next time you feel like you're in a painful situation, figure out how to take 100% ownership of it.
And that way, whether it's good or bad, you feel like you have power over the situation.
🧚 3 Fairy Tips for Multipassionate Creators
🎥 Don’t be part of a herd.
It’s so easy to copy and imitate what everyone else is doing both online and offline.
And tbh, there’s nothing wrong with it. But when you deviate from your true self, it becomes a problem as you become part of the herd. Hence, I stopped scrolling on Twitter because I’m scared of being like everyone else.
This 83-year-old lady on YouTube teaches us that by finding out ways to express our own individuality, we become unique in our way. And eventually, that’s how you stand out in life. And also, become more fulfilled.
📝 Focusing is an income-generating skill.
As I built my brand around being a multipassionate creator, some people have asked me, “how do you do it?”
How do you have the time to do nursing, write, make videos, travel, and etc.?
The answer is I know how to focus. From the outside, I’m doing many things. But on my day-to-day life, I make sure that I’m focused on a specific task, project or event. I’ve learned how to set up my environment in a way that will make me succeed.
That means, no Instagram, TikTok or Twitter on my phone.
Darius Foroux argues that focusing is an income-generating skill. He says that, “the majority of people are addicted to their smartphones and can’t focus for more than 90 seconds.”
But by learning how to focus, and getting things done, over time, you’ll get more rewards. He means rewards, whether that’s fame, status or money.
I happen to agree with him.
🎙Plan your behaviour when your motivation is up, not when it’s down.
Have you ever wondered how most of your favourite creators find the motivation to do what they do?
How do they show up so consistently, every day, for years?
It turns out, they don’t rely on motivation. They rely on strategically planning the tasks they’ll do even if their motivation fails them.
This short podcast episode by The Diary of a CEO shifted my mindset about learning how to plan the things I’ll do when I’m motivated.
It’s hard to convince yourself to do something when you don’t feel motivated to do it.
So next time you have a rush of motivation, take advantage of that to create the routines and habits to get things done.
✨ Latest Work On The Internet
✍️ How to Fall in Love With Your Dream Life
🎥 How this one app makes you feel unfulfilled (& what to do about it)
🤔 A question for you this week:
What are the consequences in your life right now that you can take 100% ownership of?
With online love 💌 ,
Jerine