Today, I just have one question - Who holds the keys in your life? Is it you? Is it your significant other? Is it your employer? Let me explain what I mean a little more…
Keys are little signals for dependencies. In my 20’s as a musician, I started to realize that I had gotten myself in a situation the creatively, I was dependent upon other people to do what I loved to do. I needed to use someone else’s studio to record music. I needed someone to mix and master my songs. Not only did this create a time restraint on my creative abilities, it was expensive. Unsustainably expensive. I could have done it much differently - I could have accumulated what I needed over time and built my own studio. I didn’t. I left so much in the hands of others, and as I look back, this slowed my growth exponentially. This was no one else’s fault but my own, and it was a great lessons on keys.
Think about your life and your own keys.
Does your significant other own the keys to your happiness? Would you be able to live a fulfilling life without them?
Does your employer own they keys to your livelihood? If you were fired tomorrow, would you be fucked? Not just materially, but emotionally as well?
Does your landlord own the keys to your shelter? Would you have somewhere to go if they forced you to leave?
Does someone else own the keys to your creativity? A publisher, a record label, an art house, even a social media platform?
All of these questions bring up the struggle for ownership. It’s easy to rent - it’s less work and more comfortable in the moment; however, to create a life of ownership takes an extraordinary amount of work and discomfort. I certainly am nowhere close to that place, but I know that I’ll get there. I don’t want to let anyone else be the master of my creativity, my happiness or my general wellbeing.
You can break this down into more detail, including everything from food production to supply chains. I will be revisiting this topic several times over the next few weeks, as it speaks to me very personally. Today, however, is not the day. This is one of those reflections where I’m struggling to keep a sane thought in my head, but that’s okay - it’s all a part of the process. 100 Days of Murph and Daily Reflections will do that to you.
Rather than incoherently ranting, today I just want to pause and allow you to reflect. Take some time to think about your own keys. Visualize them - what do they look like? Think about what taking ownership of them would look like for you. Often times that is not a quick nor easy process, so think about one step you can take in that direction. If you want to take back your key to happiness, do something you love to do today. If you want to take back your key to livelihood, work on that side hustle idea you’ve been sitting on. If you want to take back your key to creativity, make a small investment on something that will help you achieve that goal.
Small progress over time amounts to major change…
Well said! Such great visualization!
New thought for me! Love it!