This year I decided to make my resolutions, or goals, more simple and to the point. I’ve enjoyed reading her books and watching her television show for years now, so I’m using some of Joyce Meyer’s motivational quotes to guide me with my goals for 2014.
The flesh, or human nature, is generally lazy and self-centred.
I am the first to admit that I really shy away from anything that’s difficult. I get put off by anything that will be tough to do. That does not make for a pleasant lifestyle because it’s so dang boring to sit around all day. I know it’s fun when it first happens but after months of not having a routine that includes going outside in the world, you go a little stir-crazy. So one of my goals will definitely to be out there more.
Humble people ask for help.
I also have a habit of not wanting to spend time with people, and next year I’m really going to seek help from people in regards to my writing and my teaching. I’m hoping to sign up with a Teaching Assistant course in January, and I’ve already used CPSeek to find a writing partner to critique some of my work. I know it’s a crucial part of the writing process, and after reading Kami Garcia’s 13.5 Things That Will Change Your Writing, I decided to accept that I need help and got on with it.
The truth is, anyone can start projects. The world is full of just-started projects that looked great at the time but were never completed.
This also goes under Neil Gaiman’s Advice to Aspiring Writers that we have to finish things. I have some great story ideas to work on this year, and I know it needs to get done. However, I’m not going through making a whole Excel spreadsheet about how many words I’m going to write on each day. I tried that and I just don’t follow through. Instead, I’m going to work on the “Write When You Can” advice that Kami Garcia has. I’ve gone back to typing some notes up in an email to myself at night on ye olde iPhone, just so I keep the momentum of the story going in my head. I’ve tried putting things of until “Writing Time” and it just slips away too easily.
Strive for excellence, not perfection, because we don't live in a perfect world.
I too often get out of things because I think it won’t live up to my expectations, or it won’t be worth doing in the end. It’s a self-doubt thing. It’s a fear thing too, I guess. I can so easily get into the mind-set of thinking I won’t be good at whatever I’m going to do because in the end it’s not going to be perfect. It will be messy and a pain in the butt and I won’t want to go through it anymore and just quit before I even start.
This is why I rush through things when I write. I aim for some obscure deadline I give myself, just so I can be done with it because I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as I wanted it to be. But that’s okay. As Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is s**t.” We have to make a bad first draft to make a good second draft. We have to make mistakes, so we can learn how to be better. I really want to work on being okay with at least doing the thing and working hard at it, even if it doesn’t end up perfect in the end.
Watch out for the joy-stealers: gossip, criticism, complaining, fault-finding, and a negative, judgmental attitude.
I’ve known this for years now, and I want to keep this on my list. The more I get upset about little things on Twitter, or at school, or in the news, the more miserable I make myself (and Steve, poor guy, who has to listen to my rants.) It’s not worth the energy and stress to get worked up about it, so I have to keep that in mind as I head off into 2014 with my new goals.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Happy New Year!
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