Lately, I’m reminding myself of this: focus on what you can control. I can control whether I’m going to sleep longer or get up and put in time on my dreams. I can tell myself I’m tired and not go to the gym or for a run, or I can get in the run or workout no matter how I feel. Yes, I can settle for the status quo or decide to change my life. [Read more…] about Focus on What You Can Control
writing life
Own Your Life
I have a bit of a ritual. On my way to work, I stop at the Tim Hortons across from where I work. It’s in an industrial area, so there really isn’t much around. But I’m a regular now, and the staff ‘know’ me and my mobile order. And as I returned to work after a couple of days off, I picked up my coffee and spent my usual fifteen minutes writing. It was clear, as I wrote and counted down the minutes to when I’d have to cross the street and enter that building, how essential it is to own your life. [Read more…] about Own Your Life
You Always Have a Choice
How we spend our time is always up to us. We can work on our book or binge-watch Netflix. We can go to the gym or we can hit the snooze button. Instead of eating a salad, we may reach for that bag of potato chips. You always have a choice, and although I’ve always known that, it’s become more clear as I embrace writing off the grid. [Read more…] about You Always Have a Choice
Fear of Missing Out
When I decided to, once again, step back from social media, something that almost stopped me was the fear of missing out (FOMO). I had spent several weeks working on my social media content, creating and post more videos and slowly (at a snail’s pace) watching engagement climb. Yes, I made progress but I wasn’t truly committed.
Still, that didn’t stop me from reaching for my phone to check for views, likes, and comments. And after months of working hard to reduce my screen time, I watched it soar—and struggled to rein it in. That was when I knew I had to get past this, often perceived, fear of missing out. [Read more…] about Fear of Missing Out
Patience as Virtue
Patience is a virtue. Growing up, that was something I heard often. And although I understood what it meant, it wasn’t something that came easy to me. I couldn’t wait for the school year to end to enjoy the freedom that the summer break afforded. I couldn’t wait to escape my awkward adolescence and become a grown-up. And I definitely couldn’t wait for the day when I would be able to leave my parents’ home for a place of my own. I was always in a rush to move to the next stage, always running ahead to an uncertain and unforeseeable future.
Learning to Go Slow
As I focused more on my writing, and specifically as I transitioned from short-form to long-form fiction, I struggled again with patience. I wanted to write the first drafts quickly so that I could get to my favourite phase: the rewrite. Then I wanted to speed through the rewrite(s) so I could send the manuscript off for editing. And while the manuscript was with my editor, I’d start on another project, still anxious and thinking about what my editor thought. Because I wanted to move the project to the next stage. [Read more…] about Patience as Virtue