You gotta keep going – there’s no alternative. If you don’t, you’ll stagnate, stall out, cease to matter, even exist. Yes. It’s that important. Though I’m addressing writers and soon-to-be-published authors like me, the reflections noted here apply to each one of us as we venture into 2022, a new year that holds a host of opportunities and fresh starts.
Stay steady on the pathway to your success. Toss negativity aside.
- The only person who fails to accomplish your goal is YOU! So, as you’re short on time and big on ambition, try implementing the Pareto Principle: an 80/20 rule that predicts 20% of an effort produces 80% of results. Give 100% of your attention 20% of your time. Consider this: if you write/edit/research for three hours of a 14-hour day, for example, you’ll avoid burnout and unproductive screen-staring. With your day’s remaining hours, ponder your work while completing life’s other chores. Often, there’s magic in those reflective moments.
- Remember Aesop’s ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’? Slow but steady wins the race. If you sprint to the end without mindfulness for advancing your craft, the result may not fulfill your expectations. And you’ll risk becoming your household’s Enemy #1 in the process! Nobody likes a Mommy/Daddy who huddles over her/his laptop as the dinner burns for the fourth night in a row.
Generate a space in your mind to create. Allow positive thinking to override your doubts.
- Clear your head of last year’s clutter. Be in the here-and-now. Visualize your goals in the present, as already achieved. There are at least two inspirational books from back in the day deserving of your attention: Practicing the Power of Now (1999), by Eckhart Tolle, shares exercises that will help clear mind space for creative endeavor. In The Secret (2006), Rhonda Byrne reveals the secret of visualizing a goal into its manifestation while always remaining positive.
- What have you got to lose if you alter your perspective? The past, well, you can’t change that. Your future remains unknown. So, the present can be a powerful place to remain fully engaged.
Never underestimate self-rewards.
- There are good reasons for self-rewards. You’ll look forward to a double-cappuccino at your neighborhood Starbucks if you tackle that re-write head-on, delete the narrative junk, and address the flat character who must face an untimely demise. Beyond the coffee delight (is there a proper writer who avoids obsessing over caffeine?), I’ll leave it to you to design personal rewards.
- For me, it’s easy. I take endless photographs, then spend countless hours editing them (white balance shifts, filters, perspective, etc.). Since this is a time-consuming luxury, I dare not dive in until I’ve met a writing goal.
Extend a kind gesture.
- It takes the focus off clamoring against your to-do list. Each of us needs a reminder that we’re not the center of all things. If managing life with COVID-19 cycling in the background hasn’t taught us to care for the well-being of others, it’s possible nothing ever will.
So, raise a glass and toast 2022!
This is the year of The Writer. It’s your year, and it’s mine too. Time to get to it.
Time to finish editing the novel, publish it, and begin the joyful journey of writing Book #2. Or #3….
