New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year

I originally posted this on my blog, but it fits well for the Salon theme for this week. So here it is:

It’s one of the most popular topics this time of the year: New Year’s Resolution. It arrived before we finished the ones from last year. It isn’t my favorite subject because of my track record, but the drive to win pushes me to make New Year’s resolutions. My resolutions don’t differ from most people. I want to lose weight with exercise and healthy foods. Most of you want to finish your first or tenth draft. But this year, my three resolutions are different, because if I can’t keep making the same ones. I never finished, so I will keep working on them and make new ones. 

1. It isn’t easy for me to speak of my flaws. I strive for perfection in everything I touch. I’m harsh on myself when it doesn’t meet my high standards. I can be just as harsh on someone. But I shouldn’t judge, because I can’t hold the same standards in others. Their wants and needs are different from mine. I can’t expect them to do the same as me. The world travels in a different way. I should honor that.

2. My second resolution stems from my first. I am harsh on myself and expect the best always. If the first time doesn’t come out perfect, then it isn’t right. Again, I need to step back and realize first tries are not perfect. I can’t write the perfect draft in 30 days. It can’t be unless you practice writing all your life and know the 30-day formula for publication. My mind needs to slow down and not expect perfection in the first round.

3. This year I want to be happy and enjoy what life has in-store for me. No matter what happens, if I’m not happy, then my dreams will never happen. My happiness spreads across to everything I touch. I’m an unstoppable force when I can’t beat myself down. Therefore, no one else can bring me down.

Now, I am ready to take on the New Year. Please leave your comments with your resolutions, or if you are not planning to make any. If you aren’t, let me know why. Until next time!

Today Is A Gift

January signals another glorious beginning, a gift to cherish or squander. It reminds me of Master Oogway, from Panda Kung Fu, quoting Eleanor Roosevelt, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why it’s called a present.”  

 

Yesterday is history. I find that statement cleansing with the washing away of 'whatever did or did not happen yesterday'.  I am thus renewed. From yesterday, I can glean from my mistakes and my triumphs to make a better today.  At least, that’s the plan. 

So, I started with goals, but this year I’m doing something different.  You know, the Einstein quote of doing something the same way will garner the same outcome.  Every. Flipping. Time.

Instead of making an endless list of things I want to accomplish, like I want to lose 10 pounds.  I’m writing goals with an end result in mind.  For example,  I am healthy and energetic.  I am eating healthy foods and having fun exercising.  The goals are written as an affirmation.  It’s not written as something to happen in the future, but is the state of being I am already in. Heh! Thinking positive here.  Don’t know how this will work, but I’m giving it a do.  Not trying, but doing as Yoda would recommend.

 

 

I’m also gathering up two glass jars and labeling one ‘happiness’ and the other ‘gratitude’ to sit on my kitchen counter. If I may dip back into yesterday for a moment, there were times I could have used looking at a jar filled with moments of happiness and the joy of that 'Yes' pumping action. I know, you know what I'm talking about. We easily forget the moments that bring a smile to our face, when something we don't want crowds our vision.  It would have helped to see and read scraps of paper filled with the good times to overcome the seemingly nonsense drowning me at the time. Besides, I believe the more I recognize the goodness in my life, more will be bestowed to me.  I got the idea for the jars from two writers, Elizabeth Gilbert and Terry Lynn Johnson.  Do check out their sites.

 

Well, this is my new beginning for 2014.  Do you have any new rituals or old ones to share?

 

Thanks for reading,

Elizabeth

 

Posted on my website too. :)

 

Positive Self Talk for Writers

What I think about, I bring about.

As writer’s, we tend to live solitary lives, hours spent in front of the computer, blocking out the noise of family and pleas for attention. Some of us even barricade ourselves in a tiny room where nobody except us is allowed to enter. With out a support system, this solitary life is the perfect breeding ground for self-doubt and negative thinking.

My husband is tolerant, but not terribly enthusiastic about the writing gig. He figures that it’s just another hobby that will end up stuffed in the corner of dark closet like crocheting or making jewellery – something that I can do when I am bored. So I don’t have a cheering section at home rooting for me every day, telling me they know I can do it.

I do have a great on-line support system. My writing friends are always encouraging, telling me when I am great and leading me back to the path when I stray. But I’ve found, even with all that great support, I really do need to be my own cheering section.

Being positive is one of the hardest things for me as a writer. I will read a book and feel inadequate because my dialogue is not as good, my descriptions fall flat and my love scenes are comical rather than steamy. I read about friends and other authors who write 5,000 words a day when I can barely squeak out 1,000. My story is missing something, but damned if I know what it is.

Because I encounter all sorts of things I could be negative about, I make an effort to be positive. Is the sexy man with no shirt half dressed or half naked? A positive thinker would say half naked, don’t you think?

Believe me I am not trying to brainwash myself into believing something that isn’t true. But I do believe in the power of positive thinking. If you tell yourself something enough times it’s going to sink in eventually. I have positive affirmations around my desk at my day job, because I know I don’t want to be there forever and some days it’s a struggle to be there for eight hours a day, five days a week.

Try writing down in a journal five positive things about yourself everyday. I sometimes struggle with this too. If you can’t think of anything to write down, here is a link to some positive personality descriptions. Post those positive words that describe you best where you can see them every day. http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/adjectives-personality-positive.htm

I honestly believe in “What we think about, we bring about.” Don’t let negative self-talk steal your passion and motivation. Believe that one day soon you will finish the book you have been working on for months or years, that if you keep moving forward you will be published, that 100 words a day is better than none. The more positive your feelings towards your writing and your life, the more likely you will get to where you want to be.

Some positive self-talk that works for me: (I didn’t make all of these up myself, but I have adopted them)

My imagination has no limits, my creativity knows no bounds.
I have faith and courage -in myself and in my writing.
I will forward and never look back.
I am in control of my life and my future.
I am creating a positive, successful future.
I know that I will be a bestseller someday and I will take the steps to get there.
I am not afraid to try something new.
My determination and will are always stronger than the problems in my way.

It’s not just about repeating the statement over and over. Visualize it, believe it, live it.

Please share some of the positive statements that make you keep going.