What you've done vs. what you haven't
The Word Watcher Challenge is winding down with this Sunday being the BIG DAY. So far one of our participants has already reached her goal (YAY, Betty!). A couple of us are close. And a few have gotten so overwhelmed by the catastrophes dumped on them by life that they only see the pages not written. Or they see the success that others have experienced—the progress others have made and they feel like failures.
There are no failures here!
I think what we need to focus on as we gallop toward the finish line (my novels are set in the world of Thoroughbred racing, you know) is what we have accomplished, not what didn’t get done. Okay, so you pledged 50 words and only wrote 5 because family and health disasters crashed down around your ears two days into the challenge. You know what? You are now five pages further along than you were before this thing started. THAT is the point. Any progress made is just that. Progress. Don’t play it down because others did more.
I have a yoga class with a range of ages from gals in their twenties to one youngster in her eighties. Do you think they all do the same poses the same way? Good heavens, no! And they shouldn’t. I constantly remind my students to honor their limitations and work at the level where they are TODAY. That’s different than it was yesterday and different than it will be tomorrow.
Give yourself some latitude when faced with those obstacles that drop in your path.
Give yourself a break! Take a breath. And celebrate each word, each sentence, each page, whether there are a hundred of them or only two. Each one is forward movement. The pages that didn’t get written will still be there tomorrow or next week or next month when life settles down.
Kinda like the dirt in my house, but that’s another blog.
Pat yourself on the back for whatever you’ve accomplished in these past weeks. And let go of the rest.
There are no failures here!
I think what we need to focus on as we gallop toward the finish line (my novels are set in the world of Thoroughbred racing, you know) is what we have accomplished, not what didn’t get done. Okay, so you pledged 50 words and only wrote 5 because family and health disasters crashed down around your ears two days into the challenge. You know what? You are now five pages further along than you were before this thing started. THAT is the point. Any progress made is just that. Progress. Don’t play it down because others did more.
I have a yoga class with a range of ages from gals in their twenties to one youngster in her eighties. Do you think they all do the same poses the same way? Good heavens, no! And they shouldn’t. I constantly remind my students to honor their limitations and work at the level where they are TODAY. That’s different than it was yesterday and different than it will be tomorrow.
Give yourself some latitude when faced with those obstacles that drop in your path.
Give yourself a break! Take a breath. And celebrate each word, each sentence, each page, whether there are a hundred of them or only two. Each one is forward movement. The pages that didn’t get written will still be there tomorrow or next week or next month when life settles down.
Kinda like the dirt in my house, but that’s another blog.
Pat yourself on the back for whatever you’ve accomplished in these past weeks. And let go of the rest.
.jpg)
Comments
I particularly like what you say about honoring our limitations. By doing that, we empower ourselves instead of letting the limitations disable us.
Write on!
Chocolate all around!