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Adjustments, Adapting, and Knowing How Your Energy Works

There’s something really invigorating about the cold.

As I write this, it’s 7:15am on Monday morning. According to my phone, it is -2 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now. When I ran out a couple hours ago to somewhat-preheat my wife’s car before she left for work, it was -4. Baby, it’s cold outside.

I had kicked around the idea of taking a nap this morning because I was so doggone tired from a bad night’s sleep, but boy, running outside when it’s below zero out has a way of waking you up.

That’s a fairly unrelated intro, but I’ve been thinking about energy the last 12 hours or so.

After my family’s Christmas celebration (a fairly draining affair every year – I love my family dearly, but there is a lot of energy bouncing around in that house when we’re all together!), my wife and I came home and unpacked our new, much-appreciated gifts from our gift exchange.

On our lists this year were a few kitchen-related items, of course. My wife received some nice glass storage containers (we’re gradually migrating from plastic to glass), and I received 8 big porcelain ramekins (YES!).

And as excited as we get about new kitchen stuff – and I really, really do – the next problem becomes, “Where do we put this stuff?!?” We’re renting a townhouse right now, and we do love it. But the kitchen, while having plenty of storage and room for the size of the place, doesn’t quite have the storage space that a full-on house would.

We have enough kitchen stuff for a house, so it gets a little cluttered. So the conversation becomes, “Where do we go with this? What do we move around? Is there something we can get rid of?”

And so we commenced with yet-another reorganization and rearrangement of some of our kitchen stuff. Which we’ve done, probably, 6-7 times in the last year and a half of living in this townhouse.

I chuckled at one point just thinking about the sheer amount of time we spend rearranging stuff in our house.

But then, it started to make sense. And the idea started bleeding over into other thoughts.

Here’s why it makes sense: life changes. Situations change. Our kitchen equipment and setup continues to evolve and change, and as such, the way we use our kitchen changes. So you adapt. And every time you adapt, it gets a little better.

Needs change, and there’s no sense in sticking with a system that isn’t as efficient or organized as something new would.

See, sometimes trying new things and new ways of doing things can feel tedious. We like comfort. We like to do what we know. What’s familiar.

But as humans, we have to learn.

I’m going through the same thing in my business right now. Copywriting is going great, but I keep working to find that next platform – the project that would be a good reflection of who I am, what I love, and how I can help people outside of financial copywriting.

And boy, have I tried a lot. Vintage ‘90s. The Practical Nerd. HustleLife Magazine. Your Superhero Reboot. TV Without Limits. Chisel Magazine.

I liked these projects, and in a sense, they did reflect what I was trying to do. But they didn’t work. They didn’t click. They didn’t connect with the audience.

And overall, that’s okay. I am trying things. I’m feeling out what I want to do. Each project was a little closer.

So what now? Well, I’m going to be having a phone conversation with the wonderful Jenny Blake and we’re hoping to spitball some ideas, bounce some stuff around, and see if we can figure out a direction and a game plan over the next few weeks.

Will it work? Hey, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll have to keep changing and adapting. It happens. But understanding how that works, and understanding how changing and adapting affects my energy – and ultimately, my success – is a key ingredient in being successful in life.

Step back. Look around. What’s not working? Okay, now change it.

As trapped or locked-in as you feel, you can always change something. Don’t run away from it. Find a way to make it work in your life. Because there is a way.

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