Sometimes, it’s hard for me to switch gears from something I care a lot about – launching this cooperative startup, or lobbying for these guys who are facing down dictators in Myanmar or kidnapped by thugs in Iraq – to writing python tests for a purpose that is, shall we say, less than earth-shaking. And to force my brain to make the switch, sometimes I put on a tv series, that effectively disengages my emotions from the real world and somehow lets me work on things I really don’t want to do. But then, I find myself attached to this fictional narrative more than I am to the people really relying on me, and that is disturbing.
So how to make myself interested in my own story, in our shared story of crafting this startup to change corporate behavior, of connecting grassroots activists together into a loose team that support each other around the world. How to shape that into a narrative with enough tension and resolution to make the real world addicting? Sometimes it is; but any time I break the connection, re-forging it can take days. I want to find better ways to hold onto the threads, to let them rest when I need to without losing my grip. Relationships are the main way – common purpose, teammates, friends who are willing to hear about the journey. Writing is another, that crystalizes purpose and makes it real.
Making ideas real, making them happen, is fundamentally what all these things are about. And somehow telling their stories, is what connects us to reality and brings it to life.
So perhaps, I should tell more stories, if only to myself.