More on Resolutions
New Year's is looming. So I've got resolutions on my mind. And I have this meaningful quote to share from Buddha:
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
And isn't that the truth? Looking at LAST YEAR'S goals versus what actually transpired this year, I sold the trilogy I wanted to sell that was on my list. I completed proposals and started new books. I accomplished a few items. BUT . . . any of the rest that fell by the wayside were lost battles . . . lost completely by me and me alone. Oh, I have a thousand excuses. Demon Baby takes up huge chunks of time, he had health problems, Baby Girl had health problems, my parents came for a month, I'm exhausted by stress, my significant other did not hold up any of the things he said he was going to and so anything that relied on him necessarily collapsed. But then . . . there should have been a Plan B. So it is ALL, and I mean ALL my fault. This year, I am conquering myself.
And I'm ready. I see the battle isn't time or exhuastion or stress or any of it. It's me, plain and VERY simple when you get right down to it. So the Buddhist quote is what I am posting here, two days before New Year's Day.
What are your battles for this coming year?
14 comments:
Me. For sure.
In a word: balance.
By giving myself permission to put the writing first sometimes, something else had to come last and I'm sad to say it was me. Physical me, that is.
Sacrificing 1 hour of kicking imaginary a$$ with my kickboxing DVD's for one hour of sitting on my a$$ to make up imaginary people has made for one rapidly expanding a$$!
So if I can find a balanced place where physical and writer me get the needs met, I will be able to do it ALL. Right?
Hey Lainey:
I so relate! It seems like when the stress hits the fan, the first thing that goes is ME.
E
Oh it's ME TOO! I was sick for nearly three months but that's no excuse. Discipline is what I have to work on in 2008. Discipline in writing, in my diet, and in exercising more as well as finding balance with juggling the writing, kids, and a dayjob. And quit smoking again! I've promised myself as soon as I finish this book.....
One thing i'd like to do is join the Y--it's a way to get out of the house, and the kids can go exercise too :) I KNOW Exercising will help make me feel better and probably help me write better--so will getting back to the healthier eating. It all goes together so there has to be a solution, right?
Happy New Year Erica!
Hi Amie:
I am pretty disciplined--have to be with as much as a write and four kids. My big problem is letting stress overwhelm me until I just crack . . . I'm doing so many things, and am so stressed and exhausted, that caring for myself slides down to the very last spot on my list. Then I seem to go someplace dark where I just can't see a light--everything seems futile. This goes against my spiritual principles. I have to say, this year has been one of my worst ever--and I've had some bad ones--so I do feel energized right now with the clean slate the new year represents to me. Almost a lifting of my burdens.
E
Erica, I love your Buddha quotes. And I love that you own what goes on in your life. I've learned so much over the years, and that is one major lesson IMO.
And Lainey, balance has always been a major lesson for me. I'm a Cancer, so we tend to be family-orientated to the point of off-the-charts. lol. Balancing that with writing has been the big life lesson for me. And I'm doing so much better now. New Year resolution this year is to honor my creativity; giving it the time it deserves. Thanks for all your inspiring blogs, Erica! It's a writer's watering hole, and I appreciate you!
Hi ladonna:
I truly believe that people who reach a certain age--30, 40, 50--and still blame a single other individual for their lot in life (whether that's parents, spouse or whatever) have lost their opportunity to live honestly and completely--they waste the life given them. As I posted a few days ago, if you don't like your life as it looks now, only you can change it. Even my heroines in my novels . . . they are never rescued but instead come to some monumental internal decision in which they make themselves vulnerable or they put themselves out there for a cause or a purpose or the chance at love . . . and they in essence rescue themselves. I really think you have to "own" your own stuff. Sometimes, I can sound brutal on myself. I made a few bad decisions this year that I utterly despise. And yet, I feel that I must own it, because then will I not pass this dark way again. Then I feel joyous to have learned the lesson--that somehow something good comes from even the worst. I come to a place of peace about it.
And glad you like the quotes . . . and the blog. :-)
E
Oh gosh, I don't think a truer thing has ever been said! My health is probably my biggest battle. Most of my issues now, I know how to alleviate and I know how to eat the way I need to and I know how to get my body to lose weight and feel good.
Just those things are going to be one heck of a battle! Then there's the writing. I need to find something NY-able that I'm as passionate about as what I currently write. And I should market pseudonym more. I should do a million things, and you're so right, it's all on me.
Maybe we should call this year the Year of the Warrior.
Love the quote. I'm actually pleased with my last year. I think -- I hope! -- my writing took a huge jump. I kind of reached my goals. With detours, as always. lol I created Write Attitude with 7 other writers.
This year I would like to be more disciplined, writing, exercising and eating healthy. It's all balance.
I read your comment to Amie, and hope you put yourself first on your list. You have to stay well to take care of Demon Baby.
Spy:
I love it! The Year of the Warrior. This is a wonderful theme.
E
Hi Edie:
I love inspirational quotes . . . I have to update my blog links and remember to put that.
As for keeping healthy--definitely. Last year, I did really well until about June or July . . . I think in June, Demon Baby was in Children's Hospital . . . and pretty much from then until the end of the year, things just tanked as far as taking care of myself.
E
There are so many "reasons" why I haven't accomplished what I set out to do.
I'm not a resolutions person, but I vow to knock off my time-wasting habits and not bite off more than I can chew. (Sorry for using such an unworthy cliché.) I am very tired from Christmas and more.
Lainey sums it up: Balance. Putting the writing first more often.
BTW, Demon Baby is absoulutely (misspelling intended) beautiful.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year.
Hi Tena:
Thank you. I am pretty fond of the little Devil.
And I have time wasters too. I need to not scan news channels as much as I do. And FOCUS.
E
Thanks for the inspiration, Erica.
I think it also might be wise to not beat ourselves up too badly when the inevitable stumble does come. We're only human.
Hi Jude:
I don't beat myself up. But I do demand that I be brutally self-honest, and also that I aspire to the highest ideal--God created me with great things in mind--as I believe all children are created. If I see myself as a loved child of the universe, then I need to ACT like one. All the time. If I can.
E
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