The Colander

A lot’s changed in the year and a half I’ve been writing this blog.

The first Daily Fuel after the Oscars used to be a major event (at least for me, if not for literally anyone who reads this). I used to be the biggest student of the Oscar race you could ever find. I’d see all the movies, agonize over my picks, and have very strong opinions after the fact. I viewed the Oscars not as an award show, but a way to highlight what really matters in the world. A way to reward the things that keep drawing me to the entertainment industry, and punish the things that pushed me away. An incorrect Oscar pick wasn’t just a disappointment. It was a sign that our society was moving in the wrong direction on a fundamental level.

Fortunately for everyone, I became a grown man and stopped thinking that way. Loyal readers will remember a bunch of cringe I wrote about the Moonlight v. La La Land debate, but those days are behind me. I’ve written a bit before about the multitude of reasons why I stopped caring about award shows, so I won’t bore you with that. But now that I’ve made myself stop (and actually stuck to the plan), I’m beginning to reap the rewards. I have so much more time to focus on my creative work. And the work I end up doing is better, because I’m no longer concerned about someday winning the approval of people I don’t respect. I’m calmer, as I’m no longer spending time getting annoyed by Oscar opinions I disagree with. The grass is a little greener and the wine is a little sweeter.

The older I get, the better I become at filtering out the things that don’t matter. When I stop caring about something stupid, the reward is more of the most precious resource I have: my time. It’s like having a colander for my creativity. When I block out all of the impurities, the important stuff can flow freely.

Award season may be over, but I’m already looking forward to not watching these shows next year.

Guest Blogger: Christian Zilko More Focused than Yesterday

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? ' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

— Steve Jobs