In early 2018, I wrote about doubling down – focusing on the quality of the things I love by being more selective of my time and energy while still pursuing my passions. I decided to focus on this theme for 2018 back in January, and now it’s nearing the end of August. It seems like 8 months have flown by in the blink of an eye.
Apart from a quick post on the Swedish concept of lagom, I haven’t spent as much time breaking down the concept of doubling down as I’d liked. I figured with a good chunk of the year complete, now would be a good time to sit down, reflect, and share some additional thoughts on it.
This post will be part update, part reflection, and a nice little time for me to share a bit more about my life and recent happenings. Hope you enjoy!
On Doubling Down
The previous year, 2017, was by far one of the most action-packed and fun years I’d ever experienced. Coming off the first job change of my career, I was able to fully enjoy city living with a good group of friends always down to check out new concerts, restaurants, and events, as well as join in on big trips ranging from scaling mountains to festival-hopping around the country. 2017 was a whirlwind of activity after activity, and I enjoyed every single moment.
Still, I knew in the back of my mind that there were two truths related to this reality – things never stay quite the same and at some point I’d need to slow things down in order to rest and reflect. This led to my resolve at the start of 2018 to start going deeper as opposed to wider, something I’d naturally moved towards through the years.
Things did change in 2018, and much sooner than I was mentally able to accept, at least initially. While I’m still super active outside of work life, with my weekdays and weekends usually filled, I’ve felt 2018 to be a slower-paced year compared to 2017. I started to notice it early on, but the full effects really hit over the summertime.
July was a break month for our church small group and a travel month for many of my peers, so for the first time in a long time, I had nothing to do during the evenings or weekends usually filled with events, activities, or trips. At first, it was a strange, unsettling feeling that left me antsy and stressed.
But after a bit of time, I decided to just roll with it, doing my best to make good use of any down time with reading, writing, and reflection. I took a solo motorcycle camping trip to Mendocino and spent the weekend reading. I spent more time blogging and listening to music. Soon, my mentality better matched my pace, and I was feeling much more at ease. And then it hit me – before 2017, this was my definition of normal!
It was quite an epiphany and made me realize that doubling down could mean slowing down while staying connected to the things I love doing. So I’ve continued to hit up concerts and shows, take fun weekend trips, and hang out with friends, just at a slower pace and with more time to myself.
Glen’s 2018 (So Far) Check-In
At the start of the year, I wrote down some goals for 2018. While it’s still an ongoing process, I thought I’d do a quick check-in on my progress so far. I won’t cover everything in detail, but I’ll highlight a few things that have stood out.
I hit one of my goals early on – becoming proficient at riding switch on my snowboard (riding with my feet switched on the board). I guess that’s what happens with a season pass and plenty of snowboarding trips in early 2018. While I finished out the past season being able to do this, I still didn’t have as much control as I’d like, so this will be something I continue to work on in the upcoming snow season.
Another goal was setting aside more time each month to write. This happened in a very unexpected way. In April, one of my good friends in LA reached out to me with a freelance blogging opportunity for a sportswear company he was working at. He had read my blog for many years and thought I’d be up for the job.
At first I wasn’t too sure how things would work out with the additional work and time commitment, but I decided to go for it. It’s been almost 6 months and I’ve enjoyed writing a blog post every week on sports and exercise-related topics, something that I normally enjoy doing. It ended up being the perfect way to exercise my writing muscles on a weekly basis, which helped me become a better writer for my own blog.
With the slower-paced year, I’ve also found more inspiration and time to work on my personal blog. I occasionally meet up with my friend Michael to do some writing at a cafe, and I’ve also gotten inspiration and ideas from the increased amount of reading and reflection I’ve been doing.
One of my favorite new rituals in 2018 is waking up early on Sundays, heading to one of my favorite bakeries (Thorough Bread & Pastry in the Mission), and enjoying an almond croissant and coffee along with a good book. A couple of excellent books I’ve finished reading recently – A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and How to Change Your Mind.
Looking Forward to the Rest of 2018
The rest of 2018 will be a balance between slowing down and going deeper in my passions and interests. I have a few big hiking and camping trips planned for Yosemite and Big Sur. I’ve gotten tickets to electronic music and metal shows for some of my current favorite artists. I’ll be attending the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix. I’ve upgraded my snowboarding gear for the first time ever and I’m giddy with excitement for the upcoming season.
One thing I’m trying to do more of is saying no, especially for things I have no intention to double down on. It’s okay to skip something that I know I’m not that into anyway. I’ve never had a huge issue with FOMO (fear of missing out), but I’ve historically been very open to checking out or trying new things. While it’s important to be open to new things, I’ve also realized it’s equally important to be intentional about what I do given the limited time and energy that I have.
That’s it for now! There are quite a few ideas for blog posts in my head at the moment, so hopefully I’ll be able to get these thoughts into words soon. And stay tuned for another exciting mini-project that I’ll be collaborating on over the next couple months. Carpe diem!
Resist FOMO at www.RandomTidbitsofThought.com.
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