If you were in a pantomime or soap opera, what would be that one blindingly obvious thing that the audience would be willing you to do (or notice), in true ‘it’s behind you!’ style?
A podcast I listened to recently (between @girlsgottaeatpodcast and @sahilbloom) pitched this imagination exercise as a novel and potentially effective route to decisiveness, clarity and motivation.
A way of attuning to that which is ‘right under our noses,’ but which busyness and distraction tend to conceal, often in spite of looking.
As is so often the case, what comes to mind FIRST when asking ourselves this question, is probably as ‘right’ as the answer will ever get.
‘Just write the book!!’
My metaphorical ‘audience’ hollered at me, in the way you might have expected them to when Rachel was about to board that plane in Friends Series 12 (‘Get off the plane!!!’) or when the baddie in Sleeping with the Enemy was within touching distance of a runaway Julia Roberts (‘He’s behind you!’ shouted the nation through the TV screen, as the water fountain scene unfolded.)
‘JUST. WRITE. THE. GODDAM. BOOK!’
It smacked of tough love, as objectivity so often does, and admittedly the temptation was to swat it with a short, sharp whack of defensiveness (‘Well, I would, if I had time!’)
Armed with an open mind, however, I opted this time to NOT fall into the Pantomime trap of ‘it’s behind you!’ ignorance. Instead, I turned around and looked this ‘sign’ right in the eye, all the while contemplating if THIS might be the one my future self will thank me, for not having ignored.
In some ways, the edict did seem a bit coincidental, especially owing to the fact that the publishing wheels were already (albeit somewhat tentatively) in motion.
From this stance, it was the validation I never knew I needed, that my budding book project should be firmly on the front burner, if I want to spare it another year in the long grass.
Admittedly, I did try this whole ‘close your eyes and imagine…’ exercise again a few more times, just to see if the ‘answer’ would come back the same beyond the initial (supposedly most effective) attempt.
As expected, what came to mind on the second and third practice wasn’t particularly ground-breaking…nor plot-twisting!
It was…
‘Just take a break already!!’
‘Get the snack, for ***** sake!!’
‘Stop ruminating you fool!’
Proof, if you needed it, that there’s no jackpot guarantee with ‘ask the audience!’ - as Jeremy Clarkson will probably attest.
Sometimes, the sum of ‘outsider opinion’ is that your laces are undone, or your dress is caught in your knickers!
This made me think, that perhaps this ‘hack’ is less about finding ‘answers’, and more about honing one’s self-awareness muscles (tuning into that ‘inner voice’) so that they can be exercised to better effect.
I’m consoling myself, that the thinly veiled insults and self-care advice I gleaned in this experiment, are all in the name of ‘rising action.’ That is, the changes necessary for moving the plot along and ensuring that obstacles are overcome (the need for caffeine and a choccie biccie included!), and potential is achieved.
This silver lining is just as well, as ‘stop dwelling on the past!’ certainly lacked the lustre of the book-writing prophesy - even if it did lend some truth to the ‘it’s behind you!’ prescription for health!
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