Well, I must say, folks, that this most recent "Steemit Nervous Breakdown" has been one HELL of a (partially-enjoyable) joy ride, as I proceed to mend all of my shattered pieces back together, like Humpty Dumpty's EVIL twin brother - the one who they COULD put back together again. Then again, the whole debate about "good versus evil" is so overrated these days, isn't it? I mean, just look at the world around us: mass shootings, natural disasters, crumbling basic social institutions, wars and rumors of wars, and on, and, and on, and on... I don't need to preach to THIS choir. It's like we're up to our "Yin-Ying's" in the extremes of Yin and Ying. But then, what better place to "work it all out" then on the cold, hard "digital sparring mat" of the "Steemit Dojo"?

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

You see, each time we log on to Steemit we're entering a sort of "digital thunderdome". We're mentally - and PHYSICALLY - tossed around by all sorts of nasty foes; both external and internal. External attacks take the form of the massive barrage of information coming at us from all directions, ideas and opinions which provoke our long-held assumptions, bots which perpetually fake and jab us, spammers who shake us down "digital-ghetto" style, and uncouth assailants who knee us in our "virtual GROINS" with their hideous prose packed with mind-bending grammar and spelling fails.

The Enemies Within

Then there are the internal attackers, who are essentially EVEN MORE formidable than the external ones, since we ACTUALLY possess a certain degree of CONTROL and AGENCY over them. We slouch for hours on end until our bones shift and throb. Our eyes and muscles twitch and strain as we override our natural circadian rhythms by consuming and creating content far into the early morning hours; until our bodies and brains surrender in defeat. We fail to restrain ourselves from reading that "one last post" before literally starting to shut all of our apps and electrical devices off - one by one - in the HOPE of eventually making our way into bed and (possibly) a partially-adequate round of sleep. We fight to pull ourselves away from our computers at regular, healthy intervals in order to complete necessary chores and responsibilities, instead of spending MOST of the DAY glued to our devices.

We enter the "Steemit Dojo" to be tossed and thrown around again and again. Yet, like the Aikido warrior we must learn the the one most fundamental lesson that: in order to know how to strike, and PREVAIL, we must first learn how to fall. As in life in general, our REAL power on Steemit arises out of this process of being thrown around, and getting back up, stronger and wiser. Maybe you logged on to Steemit today, started developing and writing a post, but were then sidetracked down some "rabbit hole" by following a longer-than-expected trail of comments. Maybe you gave into temptation and took on TOO MANY new posts to read today. Maybe you got caught up in responding to too many replies to your posts. The daily battle of the warrior is one which requires constant vigilance, and the ability to neutralize attacks before - or as shortly as possible AFTER - they grow large enough to overpower and defeat you.

Victory Lies In The Process

But our saving grace is those OTHER sessions in the "Steemit Dojo", where we attain "the flow". We've achieve our focus point, and the usual external and internal assailants are unable (or BARELY able) to penetrate our defenses. We are centered in a logical flow of tasks which we have PURPOSELY pre-organized through the ongoing development (as in this series) of our "Steemit Productivity Strategy", and which flow effortlessly from one to the next. We read JUST the right number of new posts each session to raise our skills and confidence level JUST enough to proceed through the day's Steemit routine methodically and efficiently. We follow JUST the right number of interesting people, whose profiles we have properly evaluated, and whose content enhances our existing follow list. We flow through the comments to our recently published post, methodically scanning the profiles of those who have graced us with their comments, and upvoted, ReSteemed and/or followed them if their content has resonated - or AT LEAST posted a polite reply and acknowledgment to their comment - in a way which flows. We are on TOP of our game - at the HEIGHT of our MOJO, and we bow out of the Steemit dojo as slightly more seasoned "Steemit warriors", feeling one notch STRONGER, and MORE HOPEFUL for the next round. We are "Steemit Gong Fu Masters", hitting the map each day with determination to become a bit better, and/or a bit wiser.

Like ALL arts - ESPECIALLY the "martial arts" - progress on Steemit is a battle between our TRANSCENDENT POWERS of creativity and will, versus the external and internal counter-forces which challenge our weak points, and force us to push ourselves into higher levels of self-mastery.

Today's Dreaded Home Work Task

For the next week (seven sessions), when you log on to Steemit, focus your attention on the a general FEELINGS you have when you are "in the flow" - that is, proceeding through your various Steemit tasks in an enjoyable and efficient manner - VERSUS when you are "meeting resistance" from the various specific external and internal adversaries which are unique to you. Keep a simple running diary (a simple text document is fine) which documents the situations/events which occur when you are "in the flow" versus when you are "fighting your adversaries". In this first stage of this larger task, you JUST want to try and document the general situations/conditions which lead you into the "flow" versus "battle" states. Some questions to consider are :

1. What tasks are you engaged in while in either one of these two states?

2. What are the FEELINGS you are experiencing while you are in these states?

The more deeply you can describe the situations, and the feelings you are having, the more it will be possible to bring these situations and feelings into a MEDITATIVE state, which will be the subject of the next post in this series... oh, I you KNOW you just can't wait.

Until then, fellow Steemit warriors, let's just take it "one nervous breakdown at a time", yet..

Full Steem Ahead...

@transcript-junky