Ask anyone in my life and they’ll tell you, I’m not great at sticking with things. I get big ideas and get super excited and make big plans and then…well, not much happens. Sometimes I do some of the things I planned and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I start, get on a roll, and then skip and day…and then six, and then forget what I started in the first place.
I don’t know whether it’s impatience, lack of discipline, or just plain laziness, but it’s something I’ve dealt with my whole life.
It’s not something I’m proud of, but there it is.
While this realization about myself doesn’t make me feel great, imagine my surprise when I realized that there is, in fact, something in my life that I have never given up on; writing.
I have been writing for thirty years.
It’s incredible to me that I can say I’ve been doing anything for thirty years. But I’ve been writing since before I could actually write. And I’m still writing.
Granted, I’m not always kind to my writing career. I’m not always consistent. I don’t give it the time or attention it deserves and sometimes I just don’t write. But, no matter how long I set it aside, and unlike many of my other projects and “passions,” I always end up coming back to it. I’ve never stopped thinking about it. I may have taken breaks, but I’ve never stopped doing it.
I’m still writing.
This is a big deal to me. My inclination to give up on things is not my favorite trait about myself but knowing that, despite all my failures, there is something I continue to do, continue to work at, continue to pursue…well, it makes me feel better about myself.
Let’s break it down. Despite my inclination to let projects go:
- I’ve published two books of flash fiction.
- I’ve completed more than one novel, one of which I am absolutely in love with.
- I’ve written dozens of stories and dozens of short stories
- I’ve written a short book about writing and yoga.
- I attempted to write a trilogy.
- I’ve touched people with my writing.
- I’ve filled so many notebooks with my heart and soul and fears.
- I consistently read at open mic events.
- I’ve done book signings.
- I attend cons and events with my books.
- I’ve been writing since I was old enough to hold a pen.
- I’ve made money writing.
- I continued to pick up writing work and I’ve made it my full-time job.
- People come to me about writing and publishing.
- I lead writing workshops.
- I’ve started writing about a subject that’s taken me almost twenty years to get the courage to write about.
Why is it important for me to list the things that I’ve accomplished in my writing?
Because too often we as people, and as writers, focus on the things we have NOT accomplished.
I could focus on the fact that I’ve never published a novel. I could focus on the fact that I’m not traditionally published (my books are self-published ).
But why? The fact is, I wrote and completed enough content to fill multiple books. Me, the person who feels like she never follows through on anything, followed through on twenty flash fiction stories, edited them, put them in a book, and followed through on publishing them.
That’s an accomplishment.
That means there is something I did not give up on. That means that this negative personality trait that seems huge and overwhelming and impossible to overcome maybe isn’t so debilitating after all.
While I may have a tendency to give up on things, I can say that I am NOT the type of person that gives up on my writing. I may struggle, I may slow down, I may feel insecure, but I do not give up.
I have been writing for thirty years and I have never given up on it. Boom.
What’s something you’ve never given up on? How long have you been doing it? Say it loud and say it proud. Focus on your accomplishments, not your failures. Make a list like I did. Keep doing whatever it is you’re doing and don’t let your negative personality traits overpower the positive ones. You’ve got this.
Want to share your accomplishments with me or others working to thrive in their lives? Head on over to my Facebook Group, Three to Thrive and share your list of achievements!