Okay, So Maybe I Haven’t Really Written Anything Lately…

Watching Elizabeth Gilbert say, “It’s exceedingly likely that my greatest success is behind me” makes one think about where we stand in the world. Here I am, about a half year after my 30th birthday, pondering my future.

From a career perspective, my best days are in front of me. I join an innovative Fortune 50 company that are looking to tap my expertise and continue doing fun, exciting things for years to come. And the amazing thing is that I’m probably creating more things than I ever had before. I’m just in a different stage of creation than I ever was before. Instead of being the writer, I am more of a conductor. And while I still write from time to time – I spend more of my cognitive energies attempting to get others to compose things for me. It’s a new perspective; one that I attack with gusto even if I miss being down with pen and paper.

I guess that’s the sad part. My journals – like the one pictured above – spawned websites which begat this blog, and while many of my writers have been dispersed in to the ether of the internet – I can’t help but wonder what happened to that drive to journal. I haven’t written anything in a while. And while the reasons for that are a mixtures of excuses, ultimately they are all just conjugations of the word “busy.” And while I sit here on the internet imbibing content constantly, I feel paralyzed and unable to put pen to paper. To organize my thoughts in such a permanent way with ink. I used to tell people that I wanted to be a writer. I need to learn to be one again.

This is the Best Post Ever

(Seriously – the best post ever.)

Of course, I’ll change my mind when I stop writing this post. I’ll go and find the next best thing ever (which coincidently is: http://www.vandermemes.com). Consistently throughout my day I will declare something “the best” only to subject myself (and my readers/followers/stalkers) with something “even better” just a few minutes later. (Which, by definition, is kind of impossible). Why do I do this?

Hyperbole has taken over our vernacular. Is this the result of entire generations growing up on Madison Avenue hype and corporate messaging? Or is this the result of an education system that doesn’t teach kids the real meaning of superlatives – resulting in consistent misuse of words. I don’t know, but it is starting to bug me.

So what’s your point?

I’m going to make a concerted effort in 2011 to not use hyperbole to describe things. I won’t promise that I won’t do it; after all, excitement sometimes can’t be contained, but I will promise an all-out effort to maintain perspective in life. I think proper perspective allows you to really understand the situations around you and react properly. I challenge you to do the same. By being more eloquent with your descriptions, we can converse with each other better.

Do you find yourself using too many superlatives and hyperbole? Do you think you can make yourself stop? What are some helpful tips to accomplish this?

The Absence of Analog

Over the last year, I’ve stopped keeping an analog journal for the first time in my life. It has, mostly, to do with my lack of a work/life balance, the absence of a good desk in my small NYC apartment, and free time. Still – I miss it.

Here are some old images from my journaling days:

I have over 45 journals of my writings. They are hidden in boxes and will probably be discovered after I pass. I don’t know what’s in most of them. I do know I keep important things written down. I chronicle the things that matter to me. I’ve moved to the digital realm but I miss the feeling of really writing. It cleans out the soul. I need to get in the practice of it again.