I Dislocated My Toe, Now I'm Focused

This is what happens when you let them get you off your game. That's the only thing I can say to describe what happened. I was working with some people, and I got frustrated. Usually I'm focused on the task at hand, but this time, I was caught off guard. My mom used to say, "Your mind's not with it!" when she saw us losing focus.

Anyway, like I was taught, I count it all joy. This little incident allowed me to find time to sit down and write and draw some things that were floating around in my head. I also have quite a bit more focus right now. No more walking aimlessly around Target or Sprouts wondering if they have just what I need.

So what am I writing? Well if you haven't been following along, I have a new little project called Transcendent Press where all of the ideas over the past couple of years will be going to. The first few products will be in zine format. Starting with characters from the sketchbook, I'll be creating sudden fiction that tells stories of super-powered beings from what I think is a pretty cool perspective.

Follow along! I'll have a lot more coming through the pipe leading into the fall.

I Didn't Know How To Win, So I Upped The Difficulty Level

I was playing this chess game on my phone, and I got into a funk where I was continually losing. It had gotten past the points of frustration and disgust. I was getting bit turned off by the idea of playing. And on a deeper level, I was starting to have thoughts that I had reached the limits of my expertise. I knew that wasn't true, but I started to feel that way.

I tried switching sides, changing strategies, altering my play times, adjusting the board color, and so on, but nothing seemed to work. I just started digging myself in deeper and deeper into this loser mindset. But then I realized something vital...I'M BETTER THAN THIS. See, I'd had that feeling before. It was nothing more than mental restraints of my own doing. By getting into the right mindset, I could move freely.

At the time this dawned on me, I was lying in bed, resting from a long day. While I was in no mental shape to play a difficult game of chess, I powered up my phone and did the one thing I hadn't yet tried. I turned up the difficulty a few levels...far past where I had ever played before, let alone conquered.

I was playing black, and after the first couple moves, I realized that this was a different beast. My concentration went up. This new computer opponent was coming at me with more devious plans than I had expected. I sat up in bed and took notice. I thought about moves and made the ones that felt right. I was fully engaged. This match was bringing out a newfound intensity that I thought had gone away.

I was winning.

When I made my final moves and checkmated the opponent, I sat back and reflected.
Nothing had really changed.
But yet, everything had changed.