Day 20: What’s next?

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Day 20:  What’s next?

Day 20. I am fighting off a scratchy throat, which threatens to blossom further as I type this. I am still behind in my editing and not working is not an option. Sleep did not come easily last night despite my exhaustion. I yawn and stretch my arms as I fire up the Avid this morning. That simple move strains a neck muscle, the one that always goes out when I don’t sleep well. Brilliant. Ice pack on, Tylenol popped, a sip of hot water with lemon to keep it all at bay. Despite the onslaught of Debbie downers from my health and body, I remain over the moon thrilled. “It looks like you are ready to get to the next level,” I read in an email from my super duper awesome web master creator guy. A fluttery excitement rushes to my head. It feels good to be ready.

Over the holidays, he gets busy with a big client of his—I am a highly discounted favor—and I am left to fend for myself in learning some of the basic ins and outs of my WordPress site to do posts. I panic at first then I’m forced to let go of my abandonment issues, calm down and focus. Ultimately, I learn so much more by being thrown into the deep end instead of relying on him to answer every minute question for me. I can only presume this helps lower his annoyance meter from my incessant confusion and inquiries as well. We schedule my final tutorial for today. The plan is for him to tell me how to do the backstroke and the butterfly without him sitting in the lifeguard chair or anywhere near the pool for that matter.

I have a friend in NYC who is a knitting guru—at least to me because I couldn’t pick the tools it takes to knit out of a lineup if my life depended on it. I marvel at her Facebook posts about knitting groups and salons and “if you get stuck, I’m here” updates on her wall. She’s letting her knitting circle know, no matter what, they’re ready to go to the next level. She makes me want to learn to knit because through her gentle encouragement, I realize I’m ready to get to the next level even in something I have absolutely zero knowledge of like knitting.  Although I don’t know the difference between yarn and twine, I simply have to start.  Just by starting, I’m instantly at the next level from where I was. Talk about liberating!

What's next?

I think it’s that notion—you’re ready to get to the next level no matter where you are—that has me so excited in spite of my work load, throat and neck troubles. The delicious recognition that it’s not only me but everyone I know and don’t know who are ready to get to the next level in some way and in some area of their lives, work, art, health, creating, has me on cloud nine. It doesn’t matter where I am, there’s always somewhere to go next, something to learn next, some way to move forward next, something to do next. Even a tiny step forward, just one new stitch, gets you that much closer to a complete pair of mittens—ever ready for the next level which could throw you over the edge to actually get wherever you want to go.

It then dawns on me that no matter what level I am in anything it’s always best to be striving to reach the next level so I can eventually get there—wherever there is—that new place that keeps creating a constant. I’m always amazed by off the charts, successful people who choose not to rest on their laurels, their prior accomplishments but instead are forever striving, growing and creating something new. Steve Jobs said it best in an NBC Nightly News interview from 2006, “I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”

The tutorial is a success! My questions answered, his guidance recorded and copious notes taken. In the middle of me dramatically and animatedly telling my super duper awesome web master creator guy how thankful I am for his patience, help and expertise, I hear a busy signal. We are cut off. I take it as a sign from the Universe to shut up and move on to what’s next…because I’m ready.

Until tomorrow, create from what you have…you’re ready for what’s next.

Kelli Joan Bennett is a filmmaker, actress, writer, entrepreneur, advocate for creative thinking and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Think Outside The Box Inside The Box Media.

 

2 Comments

  1. I loved this Kelli.

    • Thank you, Marcy! It’s wonderful to have you weigh in. I always love your POV. Now back to my “next” I go.

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