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A Happy Writer is a Good Writer

I can't believe it is time for another writing update!

I hate to say, but I've been in sort of a slump.  I haven't worked on my main project in a few weeks, and I've been writing sporadically on a short story in 50-100 word chunks.

Part of it is because I'm working a lot, so I just write when I can squeeze in a few moments, and its easier for me to work on my short story in tiny chunks than my main project.

But another part of it is because I'm just...tired.

Between my 2 jobs I've been working full time, and when you work one job that you hate, and another job that you feel stuck in, it feels like a LOT more than 40 hours, and all of that leads to writing resistance.

At the beginning of the year, I did a tarot card spread for myself and it told me that the one thing that will make this year successful for me is moderation.  For me, this doesn't necessarily mean cutting out things that I want to do, but rather it means allowing myself to not do ALL the things every single day. 

For example, yesterday I wanted to write and I also wanted to play my cello, but I knew that I didn't have the energy to do both, so instead of doing both of them for just a short amount of time to squeeze it in (and probably not doing myself any justice), I made a choice.

Which one of these things do I want to do MORE in this moment?

I didn't think about which one would help me in the long run professionally, or which one I thought I "should" be doing, but I just gave myself a moment, and thought about which one I wanted to do more.  Which one would make me happier in that moment?

Writing won.  And I ended up writing 383 words of my main project. 

And I was happy.

Some days, cello will win.  Other days it will be reading, or bible study, or working out.  But my goal is to choose the thing that will make me the happiest in the moment, and to not stress too much over what I think I "should" be doing, or what the "better" choice is.  All of the things I want to do will help me be a better person, writer, professional etc.

I know there is this belief that if you want to be a "real" writer, then you have to be writing everyday for many hours.  And sure, that is true to an extent.  I can only imagine how much I could accomplish if that were true for me.  If I could afford to devote that much time to writing everyday.


Someday, yes.  Someday, I will have a normally scheduled job, and it will be easier for me to afford to schedule in writing time, both financially and emotionally.

However, I also have to think about me in the present, and how I can't really afford to do that right now.

But I CAN afford to learn how to make myself a happier person, and to take steps in doing so.

Speaking of being happy, "Happiness" is my theme for 2017 and I've kicked off that theme by going through The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  I'll be doing my end of the month posts reflecting on that process.  It's not too late if you want to join in! 

If you're not officially doing The Happiness Project, I would still love to hear how you work to make yourself happy.

Until Next Time.

-B. Strong

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