Sundays With ScootyDub - Doing more, Iterations, & Sitting on the couch

Happy Sunday, Reader

Life is more enjoyable when you’re not trying to predict every outcome.

But I suck at it.

I constantly sift through potential scenarios, reactions, and, of course, judgments.

And for what?

All I get is too much cortisol and drops of sweat tickling down my rib cage.

For example, I was in a head-on collision to start March.

The sun was shining behind me, casting a shadow onto the narrow, slush-covered laneway in and out of the parking lot. Ahead of me came ripping a black hatchback. I slowed to stop but realized the hatchback was not. I could see the slush splashing out from the sliding tires.

My hand gripped for the gear shift while my foot snapped to the gas pedal faster than a Formula 1 driver. I pushed forward on the shifter and down on the gas in perfect synchronicity.

Vroooom! Boom!

(But now imagine more of a disappointing ‘thud’ sound)

My hand/foot reaction didn’t get as far as Reverse. Instead, I gassed in Neutral for a dramatic rev on impact. The black hatchback slid in at what I’d describe as a “snail’s pace.”

But physics don’t care.

Stepping out into the slush and sun, I sighed when I saw the damage – a cracked, tilted bumper. But not a scratch on the snail.

(Now, reimagine the impact again, but make the thud even more disappointing. You can keep the revving sound for excitement.)

Sun in my face, I squinted at the scene.

I pinched my phone sideways between thumbs and fingers, snapping photos like a crab at a crime scene. My mind was scuttling through possibilities. Predicting problems and metaphorical headaches. Snap snap. Like a crab on a long series of phone calls with other crabs, discussing pricing quotes, appointment dates, paperwork, and other logical crab stuff.

“This tiny little crack is going to be a big problem to fix.” – me to myself

But that’s not how it panned out:

Turns out the driver of the black hatchback is my next-door neighbour.
Turns out a CRV bumper costs a little under $1000 to replace with a crispy new shine.
Turns out there’s an Autobody broker service that takes care of everything, including pickup & delivery.
Turns out I created a crab trap for myself and side-stepped right in.

The point is this:

We can’t predict what will come. What is here now will pass. Feel it, but don’t fret it. Let it in and let it go.

You’ve made it this far. You’ll figure it out.

You always do.

March notables:

📩 Sales email magic — I wrote 8 emails, sent over five days, that translated into close to $8K in monthly recurring revenue (for the client). The tangible results powered up my confidence XP.

+ The 20-email educational course I’ve been crafting for three months went live on the internet. It’s exciting and nerve-racking to know hundreds of people have read it. (reach out if you’d like the link to check it out)

🤓 Crosswords — I don’t know how it happened, but Sarah and I crush crosswords now. Every evening, we spend an hour completing the NYTimes daily crossword. It’s infuriating and exhilarating. Would recommend.

🌮 Sundays — I’ve been trying to keep Sundays casual. One Sunday, we drove 27 minutes to IKEA just to enjoy some food court meatballs, looking out over a packed parking lot. And on St. Patty’s Sunday, we ate tacos and ice cream in the sun. A perfect slice of spring (before winter came back for round 3).

Three Lessons Learned in March

I. The answer to doing more isn’t as simple as having fewer things to do.

There’s always something in the way. I tell myself, “If I didn’t have to do X, I could do Y.” But if Y really mattered, why is X or Z or any placeholder letter getting in the way?

My life hasn’t become any more or any less complicated over time. It’s just different problems in different contexts.

The answer to doing more is deciding what matters and making hard decisions to realign the letters.

II. Your strategy will improve with iterations of implementation.

I like to start projects with a plan. An outline, a few jots, and an idea of where I’m going. But how do I know where I’m going if I’ve never been before?

I easily get trapped in a cycle of gathering information. More of other people’s ideas always seems like the best answer.

But really, it’s the pain of practice that shows you where you need to go.

III. No one ever did anything sitting on the couch, waiting for something to happen.

I’m writing this on the couch. A spot I like to do nothing at all. Or only as much as what I feel like. It’s a familiar place with low existential expectations.

I think we all need somewhere to do nothing. A place, a time, a mindset to be okay with everything and nothing, even if we’re not okay.

If you’re sitting on the couch, there’s probably little to be done about whatever you’re worried about. Unless you decide differently and do something.

Isn’t that a beautiful thing?