Tiny Story #18: Five Minutes

I woke yesterday feeling pretty shitty. I actually feel like crap most mornings. I’ve battled chronic illness my entire life. Since my body was weak, my brain seemed to take over as my spokesperson. Or maybe, it was the CEO.  Like any unchecked bastion of power, it grew too strong without an equally strong opposing force. I became an over thinker. For years I let it get me down. Let it stop me.

About a year ago, years into this pattern I decided I was sick...of being sick. And I was sick of thinking but not taking enough action. Maybe I couldn’t run a marathon or work as long hours as others, but I could change my thoughts. And I could do something. I started with 5 minutes. What could I do in 5 minutes? I asked myself. Maybe not write a novel or make an app but I could do something. 

Back to yesterday. I’ve been battling some sort of weird illness for the better part of three weeks. After a good breakfast I started inching my way to feeling better. I was thinking about how it took me a year to launch tiny stories. Worried about naming it right, it stalled. Then one day I just said, Fuck it. And started doing it.

I was thinking about how action was really the only way to overcome over thinking. So, I tweeted about it. People wanted to know how I overcame this tendency. I created a tweetstorm. My timeline flooded with others who’d battled chronic over thinking. People gave their own suggestions. Someone even gave the tweetstorm a soundtrack. It brought so much joy to inspire—and be inspired by others. Even if I did nothing else, it was a good day.