logbook – Hector Carranza

I Need Help Being Happy

Post author:admin
Post published:November 15, 2018
Post category:Inspiration logbook

I’m the type of guy that needs a cheerleader so I can play at my best, or at least the guitar guy from Mad Max to pump me up. I need to be constantly programming myself on a daily basis to be productive and to have a positive, happy attitude. I easily get distracted and easily fall into pessimistic, lazy behavior which is why I have to surround myself with books, quotes, videos that remind me that my time is finite, that if I don’t step my game up in no time will I be forty and fat.

I put the same quote on all my red moleskin journals, “Be Happy and Grateful today because you will be wishing for it tomorrow.”

I have that quote because I have fallen in times where I go into the mentality that my life sucks. Days where I have low energy and I tell myself you deserve to take the day off which can turn into two weeks that can go as long as 6 months.

Somebody joked that we spend our 20’s depressed and then become depressed at 30 because we wasted our 20’s depressed. I don’t want to look back and see that I was a lazy pussy feeling sorry for myself.

Most people see life as a waiting game until they hit the jackpot. When I get that new job, new car, a girlfriend I’ll be happy.

We think particular moments will define us, but those moments will never come. The future is already here, the moment that will define is right now. Someone said that you have to believe that the next great moment will happen in the next 5 minutes. If you make it a habit to see every minute with importance, and not just another hour that needs to pass by until you go to sleep then you preparing yourself to be happy, strong and productive. How you do something is how you do everything.

Most people who wait will miss the chances they get because they can’t go from a state of weakness to strength without doing it day in and day out. Treat every day with importance. If you can’t practice happiness and strength right now, chances are you won’t cultivate those habits for the future when the moment arises.

Notebooks for the Lost

Post author:admin
Post published:November 14, 2018
Post category:logbook

Austin Kleon says, “Here is where your diary comes in hand. You keep track of what’s happening, write your own history book, consult it when you feel like you’re going crazy.”

He says sailors use this method of a logbook to see how far they have traveled at sea. If they don’t see progress they go mad.

It is very easy to get lost in pointless activity so I use two methods to not go crazy. I have a horizontal calendar and a notebook where I write my goals down.

The importance of my calendar is marking down things that I have completed. This can be books and audiobooks I have read, posts I created, or things like washing the car or what date I cut my hair. It’s a good feeling to see all the things you did when the month is finished. It can also be a jolt to your laziness when you see a blank calendar. You get motivated to start filling it up with things.

The second method I use to fight unproductivity is write in my notebook. I write my goals down; go to work, call the insurance, or make a post, but the real power of a notebook comes in reviewing what you did and didn’t do each night.

Austin Kleon says that our notebooks are the best place to experiment because no one will ever see us fail. The power is in the lessons we give ourselves when we go through a check of our day. These lessons help us move forward when we are stuck. Some lessons I give myself for the next day after I checked how productive I was and even how happy I felt are; smile more, no watching Youtube in the morning, leave your room to write, and meditate from 10 to 15 minutes.

The notebook helps me move when the anchor is down and I’m stuck.

If I know I am moving (the daily tips on where I can improve) and have a map of the landmarks I have passed (calendar) then I must be getting closer to something.