June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Eighteen: Pop Out Balloons Fast
Hello and welcome to the eighteenth day of the June 30 days writing challenge. If you want to know all the details about this specific challenge, have a look at the introductory post. In short, I will be posting every day a short tip, or technique, or opinion, something that you can call a "life hack". Feel free to join the challenge and post your own life hacks. I will do my best to upvote each day at full strength (about $3 at the current STEEM price) 3 posts tagged #challenge30days (leaving a link to your posts in the comments will also help).
If It's Not Real, It Will Pop Out
A few years ago I went with my daughter, who was around 6 at that time, to a playground. There was a birthday going on and there were a lot of child props lying around: plastic bricks, toys and a lot of balloon-made objects. You know the type: a rabbit, a flower, or, and here's where it gets interesting, swords.
As I took one of those ballon-made swords and started to play with my daughter, something stroke me. The air pressure in that balloon was just enough to make the object seem solid. Of course, it was lighter than a real sword, but as I felt it in my hand, it seemed like it might be solid.
And then I realized how often are we doing this ourselves. How often are we blowing air into formless shapes and make them _look like _ they are real, although they are filled only with our expectations.
It's very easy to see this behavior in relationships: although we may spot some inconsistencies between our expectations and the actual behavior of our partner, we choose to fill in the gaps. We cut some slacks, we ignore some stuff and, all in all, we keep blowing air into something that we think it's our partner, but it's actually not. There's no one there. Just our expectations, filling something so fragile, that the first solid confrontation could blow up in seconds.
That's when I learned to "pop out my balloons fast".
What does it actually mean?
Well, it mean to verify our assumptions rather sooner than later. It's a way of "killing ideas", if you want, by trying to put them into practice.
For instance, when you have this dream of moving abroad. You may start by saving money, feeding the dream, making wish boards and whatnot. This process is actually inflating a "balloon", because you really have no idea if you're going to like living abroad.
"Popping out" this balloon would be as easy as just taking a small, one or two week trips to that place where you want to move, and see if you really like it.
If it's for real, it will stick. If it's not, it will pop out, leaving your expectations vanish in the air, but at least you didn't lose years of your life for a hopeless dream.
I'm really curious to read about your life hack today. Leave a comment with a link to your post, if possible.
Previous Posts In The Challenge
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Seventeen:Replace Re-Action With Action
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Sixteen:The 5 Minutes Meditation Box
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Fifteen: Create - And Maintain - A Morning Phrase
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Fourteen: Improve 1% Per Day
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Thirteen: Get Rid Of TV. For Good.
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Twelve: Save 10% Of Your Income - No. Matter. What.
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Eleven: Set - And Keep - A Monthly Personal Expense Budget
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Ten: Set A "Main Task" For Each Day
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hack - Day Nine: Keep A Journal
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks - Day Eight: Keep An Activity Log
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks - Day Seven: Implement A New Habit With A 30 Days Challenge
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks - Day Six: Put It In Front Of The Door
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks - Day Five: The Pomodoro Technique
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks - Day Four: Keep A Clear Mind By Unloading Ideas Immediately
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks - Day Three: Intermittent Fasting
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks - Day Two: The "2 Minutes" Time Management Rule
- June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks - Day One: Avoid Fighting With A Simple Visualization Technique
- Announcing The June 30 Days Writing Challenge - Life Hacks
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
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Sooner or later every dream and expectation has to face the harsh needle of reality. Better it goes pop on the ground from where you can pick yourself up again because we all know what happens after it pops in the sky. There would be nothing left to pick.
I am not trying to be pessimistic. What I am trying to say is that dreaming doesn't takes courage. What takes courage is to dream again after the you first one dies.
Very well said :)
Really great article published well, my friend
You are writing a special
Making a big deal off nothing has always been the easiest way to inflate the ballons and live in its idea. Popping out the ballons is surely a way to gain control of the situation.
This is my link for my life hack post
https://steemit.com/life/@t-flames/30-days-life-hack-day-18-relaxation-take-a-shower
You are really intilligent .
Your article is different .
Thanks for sharing @dragosroua
Upvote you .
I like the analogy of filling a balloon with air to the expectations we create in people, places in things that aren't based on much of anything in reality. I think it happens way more than we care to admit, and it's sadly not just a young thing. People my age are still doing it, and I'll find myself in the middle of it, too.
In my experience, it would be tough to get the sense of a major move with just a week or two visit, but then I can't honestly say I've regularly gone anywhere for that express purpose. There would be things I would do differently, like driving through neighborhoods, or going to a grocery store, or trying to picture myself living there without going regularly to all the tourist attractions. That's hard to do while you're going to all the tourist attractions because you're on vacation. :)
Still, if there's no conclusion drawn either way, you could always come back and see what the impressions of the place are the second time. If by then it's not a definitive yes, it's probably time to knock out the balloon.
Popped out that balloon with living abroad...after two years. I can't say though that you can make yourself a pretty accurate image about how it would be to live there by just taking a two weeks visit, but you can make yourself an idea about the place by visiting it an especially by talking to locals and why not other people who moved there from foreign countries.
My post for the #challenge30days is about autosuggestion and really happy to keep on going with the challenge :)
https://steemit.com/challenge30days/@acesontop/june-30-days-writing-challenge-life-hacks-day-eighteenth-autosuggestion