I’ll do anything but ‘that’: the avoidance trap

Is it just me, or does anyone else struggle with this problem: You need to do something, but you find every excuse to do anything but “that”? Case in point: Right now, I should be fleshing out a story concept based on an idea I’ve toyed with for months. But, instead, I’m writing a blog post scheduled a week away. Is it because avoidance oftentimes rears its ugly head when the going gets a little sticky? Years ago, a colleague-turned friend advised me to prioritize by first tackling items that can be dealt with quickly. Maybe that’s one reason I circle around the thing that proves most challenging or intimidating. Like Finding Nemo’s Dora, who tries in vain to focus on the difficult task in front of her, I allow anything shiny to become a distraction of epic proportions. For example: I will not take another workshop until I finalize my story concept… oh look, that weeklong workshop is free!  

What thing do you avoid at all costs?

Image courtesy of Surachai at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

A new year for change … and butterflies

Not to sound like a Debbie Downer, but wow, talk about feeling lower than low.  Ever take one of those good long looks in the mirror and you didn’t like what you saw?  What about when you see yourself through someone else’s eyes?  For me, the answer is change.  And change is hard.  But I suppose if it didn’t hurt sometimes, the results might go under-appreciated.  While 2012 was a year to stretch beyond my comfort zone, 2013 looks like it’s going to be a year of some painful changes.  One change, although without discomfort, is that I’m doing away with my daily blogs.  I’ll check in from time to time, ramble here and there, spout off rhetoric, but for the most part I’m going to work on changing.  Another word for change is transform.  It’s what the caterpillar does when it breaks free from its cocoon.  That’s me.  And I’ll emerge not unscathed, but I will be a beautiful butterfly.

What does 2013 look like for you?

Getting where you want to go

[Image credit: anankkml]

Yesterday I was telling I friend I was completely out of blog ideas.  Typically, I maintain a small arsenal of posts waiting to be tweaked and uploaded, but now my mind’s a blank and I’m scrambling to fulfill my self-imposed goal of writing a blog-a-day.  First he said I don’t have to follow through with it (I know, but I’ve only got a few months left); then he suggested the topic of people waiting until the New Year to make resolutions.  Although I prefer to think of them as goals or dreams, January 1st is the perfect time for me to reflect on the previous 12 months before planning for the next 365 days.  Obviously, if my wellbeing is in jeopardy, I would enact a solution sooner rather than later.  But for things less pressing, I’ll wait until I’m faced with a clean slate to add them to my list.  I guess whatever works to get you where you want to go.

Are you a resolution maker or one-day-at-a-timer?

Where did you come up with that?

[Image credit: jscreationzs ]

My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living. ~ Anais Nin

As a writer, the question of where I (we) get my (our) ideas is frequently raised.  At the end of 2011, when I decided I wanted to go from a weekly to a daily blog in 2012, I didn’t think ahead to the fact that I’d actually have to come up with something new to write about every day.  While some days are definitely more of a challenge than others, more often than not, something happens or I hear something that strikes a chord, makes me think or feel a certain way, and voila, a blog is born.  I also find myself jotting down notes for the idea coffer when the muse strikes, so when it’s lacking (which will and does occur frequently), I either use one of those future topics or whip up a grammar lesson.  Considering there are 24 hours in a day, it’s really not too hard to stumble across at least one thing to ramble about.  So the next time you’re wondering where an idea came from, look around you.  It may have been right under your nose the whole time.

Is there a story hiding somewhere under your nose that begs to be told?