The Journal of Universal Rejection

I read Seth Godin’s recent blog about “The last 1%” today.  More or less, he talked about a publication called “The Journal of Universal Rejection”.  This is a journal that promises to reject any and all submissions.  It’s absurd, yes.  But he goes on to explain that the point is that a writer need not worry or stress or become fixated on the outcome (they already know it will be rejected with 100% certainty), and instead they can just focus on the work itself. 

Now I’m not actually sure if this is a real thing.  But the message struck a cord with me.

As I mentioned recently, I had fallen into a motivational trap where I was only focusing on my numbers…on reaching that end goal.  The numbers were driving everything and I was slowly becoming resentful of the requirements.  Then, in a “wise old master” kind of way, Sifu Rybak upped my goal.  By a significant amount.  An amount that is, in my opinion, somewhat absurd considering we are more than halfway through the year.  The strange part is that since then, my perspective seems to have shifted.  Not only am I still recording good numbers, but I’m also somehow finding ways to work on some of the extras that I had felt the requirements were getting in the way of.  And honestly, it doesn’t seem like I’ve made any drastic changes…I truly haven’t.  Instead it seems to simply be a slight mental shift.

Even as of this morning, I hadn’t really figured out why or how.  But when I read that blog today, I wondered if there might be a correlation here.  My new 60,000 goal is just so absurd (to me anyways) that it may have possibly severed my fixation on the end number.  As a result, my focus has shifted back to the work itself, which is exactly where it belongs.  To be clear, the numbers still play an important role. They still need to be tracked to monitor and assess progress, or lack there of.  And they still help to set a basis for consistent action.  But they are an instrument to aid in success...and should not be confused with success itself.

The final outcome doesn't need my attention...the work I'm doing today to get there does.