Never the perfect time: sticking to our priorities

You know when you plan to do “the thing” and there’s always another thing that comes up? Because life. Last year I devised a plan to apply for my MFA in 2017. My goal was to apply by Feb. 1. Then life happened and pushed out my application to May 1. Now it might be July 1. I mentioned this to a friend who said, “It’s like having kids… you are never really ready for it, just adapt when it happens and, surprisingly, it usually works out just fine.” He’s right: because life. Another friend is embarking on a new adventure of her own, denoting a big change in her life—which means conquering her fears. Change and fear are often synonymous with life, but we do our best to adapt, or to overcome. With that in mind, after work I didn’t pass go or collect $200 but, instead, drove home, stopped procrastinating and made significant progress on my application paperwork. Because life.

What must become your priority?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Trust yourself

[Image credit: Stuart Miles]

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
~ Sylvia Plath

In my opinion, self-doubt is counterproductive to any cause.  Whether you’re writing a book, training for a marathon, participating in a Bikram challenge or hinging your hopes on Someday, once you allow doubt (a close relative of fear) to creep in, your enthusiasm and/or motivation tends to dwindle.  Has anyone ever questioned your intentions and then suddenly the idea or goal you were so excited about seemed silly or unattainable?  Or maybe you wanted to prove your naysayers wrong and ramped up your efforts.  Regardless, insecurity is not our friend because it poisons potential.  Instead, we need to be overcomers in order to transform self-doubt into self-confidence.  We’re the only ones who know how badly we want something.  So we’re the only ones who can determine what it will take to push through the uncertainties and come out ahead.  Trust yourself.  It’s better to fail than never to try.

What is your worst enemy to succeeding in life?