Today is not the time to think about tomorrow's problems

Briandito Priambodo -

Sometimes, we get stuck thinking about the things that might never happen, and it paralyzes us—making us unable to make a move, not even a single step forward.

How often do we allow those "scenarios" to dominate our minds, draining our courage and extinguishing the fire in our hearts?

For me, it happened too many times.

The video version of this blog post is available on YouTube!

Over the years, I learned how to shift my focus. I realised that there are times when I should see the bigger picture to see what's up ahead and how to plan my next steps. There are times when I should zoom in to see the details, to focus on the things that are in front of me.

Because if I try to do both at the same time, it will not work. They have different purposes. Just like how we need to change lenses if we want to shoot wide-angle photos versus a close-up portrait, we also need to shift our focus when we zoom in and zoom out.

Here's my rule of thumb:

  • Zoom out when you want to plan, see progress, and review your plans.
  • Zoom in when you want to execute, take action, and make progress.

Shifting your focus

When we zoom out, we can see the entire landscape of possibilities. We can dream big and imagine what could be. But staying zoomed out for too long can be overwhelming - the distance between where we are and where we want to be might seem impossibly vast. It might make us feel small.

For example, if you want to become a writer, the writing process itself isn't hard—it's the weight of expectations that holds us back.

We get caught up in writing the perfect book. We want people to like it, we want it to be a best-seller, we want to have a successful book launch, and so on. If we zoom out for too long, we may let the grandness of our vision paralyze us. It felt too big for us, and it made us feel very small.

But here's the truth: extraordinary achievements are built on ordinary actions repeated consistently.

That's why we need to zoom in. At this level, we focus on the immediate next step. So, instead of getting lost in the maze of "what-ifs," focus on what you can do right now: Start with what's in front of you.

  • Type that first word on your computer
  • Take that first step on the road
  • Draw those lines on your canvas

The beauty of zooming in and zooming out is that it makes things manageable. You no longer have to solve every problem at once; you can zoom in to handle what's directly in front of you and then zoom out to see the progress and distance between you and your dreams.

Remember this

To do extraordinary things, we have to do something that might seem ordinary many times over. Don't wait for inspiration to strike or for conditions to be perfect. Because the ideal time to do it was yesterday, and the second best time to do it is now.

I hope you find this insightful. Remember:

It's not going to be easy,
But it's not impossible.

Your friend,
Brian.