The How Obsession

I’m a planner. I’m obsessed with knowing the how. And I’ll be honest and tell you that sometimes I get so caught up in the how that I miss the point entirely.

The how doesn’t matter if you aren’t doing. And if you’re like me and get caught up in the how, you’ll know that the how obsession can and will paralyze you.

Because in reality, you can’t always see the whole path. If you’re lucky, you can maybe see a step or two ahead, but that’s it. It’s your faith that the path will lead you to the right place if you just keep doing that matters the most.

Because the how isn’t always up to us. But the what is. Our job is to focus on the what and let the universe come up with the how.

This obsession creeps in every now and again. I’m human and not immune, no one is. I didn’t realize what this actually was, this obsession with the how, until recently. I thought it was writer’s block, but the ideas and desire are there. And then I thought it was fear, but at this point what the hell do I have to be afraid of?

And then I realized that I find myself in the future occasionally, living so many steps ahead that I don’t recognize my surroundings and I can’t find my way back. I can’t see anything clearly, and I’m not immersed in my work, in my words, the part I always recognize, and then the fear creeps in and I run to the nearest corner and hide there until life catches up.

We end up on fast forward sometimes unintentionally. A button accidentally gets pressed, probably triggered by comparison or fear, and before you know it you’ve lost your way.

You have greatness inside of you, but if you get stuck in the planning phase, how will anyone ever see it?