Acknowledge, Recalibrate, Refocus

Avoid “Chrissy Syndrome” - Run Your Own Life, Don’t Let Life Run You

Kara Cutruzzula, author and writer of the substack, Brass Ring Daily, posted an article this week titled A Starting Mantra. Of the many great messages Kara shares about “taking a minute,” the one that took root for me today was “Maybe everything is going to happen, right on time.”

You see, I have what I have termed “Chrissy Syndrome.” ‘Chrissy Syndrome” is a reference to the movie Jaws. In the opening scene of the movie, poor Chrissy is the great white’s very first victim. While skinny dipping, Jaws attacks and drags Chrissy through the ocean water across the screen. Chrissy is jerked left and then abruptly right. See, that’s poor Chrissy on the cover of a fabulous book about the making of the movie “Jaws” titled The Jaws Log. Fabulous book, by the way.

Sometimes I feel like Chrissy. There is so much on my plate, so much to do, or read, or learn or try that I feel like Chrissy. Dragged one way for a while and then jerked back in the other direction - nothing is focused, nothing is achieved, nothing is completed.

And then there is the “choice” aspect of being dragged back and forth. Clearly Chrissy didn’t pick her predicament. But we are supposed to be in charge of our own lives, aren’t we? The truth is that at times I feel that “my life is running me, I’m not running my life” to loosely quote a line from the movie, Coal Miner’s Daughter.

How do we take back control of our own lives? Where do we start? While Chrissy clearly shouldn’t have dove into the water in the first place, that’s not much help to us. I truly believe that it’s important to “dive in” to life, to our passions, to our ideas, and to our writing. But how do we choose where to focus and stay focused, one project at a time?

A good place to start may be to start each day with the idea that Kara shares today. ‘maybe everything is going to happen, right on time.’ Try to pick one thing, related to your passion, each day to devote your energy and trust that the rest will happen right on time. Escape the Chrissy Syndrome and focus. When you feel the drag of the “great white,” stop… acknowledge, recalibrate and refocus.

How about you? Any ideas on the subject of “Chrissy Syndrome.” How do you stay in charge and focused in your life? Please comment!

Here’s More Help

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