Morning Ritual & Resistance
Honestly? Woke up feeling kinda meh about horoscopes today. Saw the title “Make the Most of It” for November 4th and rolled my eyes a bit. “Make the most of what?” I thought, groggy and reaching for the coffee pot. But the “Action Plan” part snagged me. Action I can maybe work with. Flipped open my beat-up planner – the cheap spiral-bound kind – beside my chipped mug. Figured, why not? Worst case, I waste ten minutes.
Breaking Down the “Action Plan”
Drained the coffee, grabbed a red pen. The horoscope talked about opportunities and “positive outcomes,” typical vague stuff. Instead of just reading it, I decided to turn it into actual steps. Scrawled:
- What “Opportunities” even look like today? (Meetings? A random offer? An idea?)
- What ONE thing can I DO to be open? (Instead of just hoping)
- How will I know a “Positive Outcome”? (What’s my measure? Feeling good? Solving a problem?)
Sketched a quick grid on a fresh page. Left column: “Opportunity-ish Thing.” Middle: “My Action.” Right: “Desired Outcome.” Felt a bit silly, honestly, but committed.
Putting Theory into Practice
Work was… work. Had a potentially awkward meeting scheduled. Normally, I’d just grit my teeth. Today? Stared at my stupid grid. Wrote in the left column: “Meeting re: Project X headaches.” My Action? “Listen fully first, THEN propose ONE clear solution option, not my usual three rambling ideas.” Desired Outcome? “Get alignment, not just more debate.”
Went into the meeting. Felt my usual urge to jump in and “fix” things bubbling up. Remembered the “Listen first” bit. Clenched my jaw, stayed quiet longer than felt comfortable. Then pitched just my simplest solution idea clearly. Didn’t blabber. Silence. Then… head nods? Actual agreement? Shocked me. Wrote “Partial win? Less arguing!” in the margin after.
Later, saw an email about a new internal training – something vaguely interesting but easy to ignore. Opportunity? Maybe? Action? “Reply RIGHT NOW expressing interest, don’t ponder for days.” Outcome? “At least get on the list.” Smashed the reply button before overthinking. Immediate relief just from acting.
Reflection & Surprises
Sat down with tea after work. Looked back at the grid. It wasn’t magical. No lottery wins. But:
- The meeting felt less draining.
- I didn’t lose energy debating myself endlessly on that training email.
- That “desired outcome” column forced me to define what “positive” meant for me, not just the horoscope.
Biggest surprise? The action part was small. Tiny, even. Listen first. Reply now. Not “Achieve World Peace.” Just specific, immediate doable things tied to what felt like an “opportunity” in the moment. Reduced the pressure massively. The horoscope wasn’t the plan; my interpretation and my tiny actions were. Weirdly, writing it down felt like holding myself accountable to… well, myself. Gotta remember this grid trick for next time I read one of these vague prompts.
