[stylist] Motivation Galore!
Lynda Lambert
llambert at zoominternet.net
Sun Jan 11 14:03:15 UTC 2015
Such a good question, Vegas.
All good advice, Julie! All of what you have stated will work if we just do
it.
My addition to the discussion is this: we self motivate through our
intentions. I think INTENTION is the most important aspect of everything we
do, or neglect to do. When I set my intentions and I am clear about them,
then I will get things accomplished. Just this week my blog post on
SCANdalous is on the topic of setting intentions. I will post the link at
the end of this note - and copy and paste it for anyone who has trouble
finding it on the link. If you want to have some delightful moments when you
go to the blog, be sure to first click on the video that is at the opening
of my article. It will bring some joy to you this morning.
Often, ideas or imagery come to me when I am not at all thinking of
writing. I am certain that is because our conscious mind is only 10 percent
or less than our entire brain. Our writing and creative ideas come through
the unconscious mind, and therefor, that makes sense that we are most
productive when we are not concentrating solely through that smallest part
of the brain. Recently, I read _The Road Less Traveled_ by M. Scott Peck, M
D. I read the book first after it was published in the late 70s. Then, I
read it twice more this past December and the information in that book that
would be helpful to creative people is boundless. After three readings of
the book, I know I could go back again several more times to really absorb
it even more. Reading books that challenge us is crucial for our growth, I
have found This year, my concentration will be on the classics that are
BCE. Though I taught that literature for years at Geneva College, I have
the need to return to those timeless books once again with new eyes. Each
of the writers who left us those timeless books has provided us with
information that we kneed to learn in our own time. They help us to see
the lineage of ideas - how we arrived at them and where they originated.
What I offer for advice are these two elements: Set your intentions (write
them down and refer to them continuously)
Begin reading texts that stretch you far beyond your own tiny bit of time
and place on this planet.
Here is the blog essay I promised:
https://llambert363.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/on-when-the-bears-goes-over-the-mountain-to-see-what-she-can-see/
_________________
Take a deep breath now, and RELAX. Go ahead, and do it a few more times.
Let your hands go limp, relax your feet and legs, breathe in and HOLD IT,
and then slowly EXHALE. OH, it feels so good!
This morning, Mama Bear (that would be me, of course) climbed back over
the MOUNTAIN and ARRIVED at January 6, 2014. The climb up that mountain is
treacherous and at times I thought I might not make it all the way up. I
slipped backwards a few times, made mistakes, stumbled, fell, and got
discouraged. But then, I decided to pick me up and keep on going UP. I
INTENDED to reach the top of the mountain, and so I did. Now, what do I see
from here?
On my other blog, Walking by Inner Vision, I saw what I could see. I
saw dreams and goals at the top of the mountain and I saw me as I sat at my
computer writing my first blog article for 2014, just one year ago. Today,
Mama Bear stands at the beginning of 2015. I can see over that mountain
through all the months that brought me here to where I stand today.
**
There was only ONE THING I planned to concentrate on for the entire year –
The Essence of Intentions. Today, my intentions are stronger and wiser than
they were a year ago. I have grown.
May I suggest that we spend a few days, right now, to map out the journey
YOU will be taking in 2015? If you have not yet done it – this might be the
day.
INTENTION begins the moment when we decide to take the action of thinking
about what we want to do, where we want to go, and what we might become in
the future.
Oh, I know, it is so easy to make excuses for our failures, but please don’t
bother to even think of failures or short comings, any inability to deal
with your life! Please don’t be so hard on yourself. When I am walking the
dogs and they sniff into things that are not good for them, I say, “Leave
It” and that means – move on!
A long time ago the brilliant author and Nazi death camp survivor, Corrie
ten Boom, was thinking about her mistakes and failures, and then she
remembered what the Bible teaches us. Corrie said that -after we recognize
we have sinned, we can ask God for forgiveness – and then she said “God
has buried our sins in the deepest sea and he has put up a sign that says,
“NO FISHING.” My dear friends, please think of that and don’t go fishing
for what has already been forgotten. Your mistakes are buried, never to be
revealed again so the next time you try to dredge them up, say to yourself,
“leave it.”
The only person who can CONTROL each of your DAYS, and how you think of
them, is YOU! Your day is your choice, so choose what makes you delighted.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Write your INTENTIONS out and keep them on your
mind for the following year and a year from now, you can climb the mountain
and see what you can see. I think you will like the view from the TOP of the
MOUNTAIN!
Be GOOD to yourself!
How can we determine what our INTENTIONS will be?
We begin by asking ONLY ONE question:
“What will I GIVE?”
What is it that you want to GIVE to OTHERS this year?
The only thing we know for sure is that we have this moment, today. We have
no assurance that we will see another day, as we consider our intentions for
the unknown future we imagine we may have.
Sit down today and begin to write YOUR INTENTIONS down.
Sit down today and think about your lifestyle, your gifts, your talents,
and write down how to make a difference in your own life and GIVE from
your HEART to others. What do YOU have to share? Everyone already has
things to give. What will be your gifts for others this year?
I have created a list of my own intentions for this year. I’ll be walking
on the HIGH ROAD, and it will be STEEP at times, and sometimes even
frightening, but I will keep on going. How about YOU?
What path will you CHOOSE to be walking on this year? I choose the mountain
path…to see what I can see. BLOG_2015_Road_Mountains_PHOTO
I’ll share a few of my intentions with you, and others are mine alone to
keep in my heart – between me and God. All of my intentions are based on my
love of art, music, philosophy, and faith. My faith in Jesus Christ and His
guidance form my life is the core of my world view.
Each of my intentions recognizes the gifts I was given by God, and my desire
to follow the path He has for my life. that
1.) I INTEND to spend some time in silence and prayer each day. If only for
short periods of time – maybe I’ll begin by sitting quietly in a secluded
place where I can be alone for awhile. Silence is where we can be open to
the leading of God in our life. I can begin by just sitting alone for 15
minutes, twice a day.
2.) I INTEND to nurture my own creative spirit through art and writing
time. When we get quiet and begin to do creative work, we find we pass into
a place that is “timelessness.” There is nothing else in our life that is
as important as spending some time alone to experience what creativity can
do for our spirit and in our life.
For me, that means I’ll be working on art projects in my studio; reading
GREAT books in my library; writing my TWO BLOGS; getting my work PUBLISHED
in books and periodicals; displaying my ART in galleries and museums, and
whatever else may come up that will be a nice surprise for me this year.
(God has a long history of giving awesome surprises and HE is always right
on time.)
3.) I intend to REST each day, to restore and refresh my inner being. Life
is not about what we DO as much as who we ARE inside, in our thoughts and
our intentions; I’ll stay focused on BEing rather than DOing this year.
4.) I INTEND to surround myself with friends who are like-minded, those who
love the Arts and Faith – those who sow seeds of Faith, encouragement and
life. That means I won’t be reading or watching things that tear down,
demean, or dishonor people of good will. Life or death is in our tongue and
in the words we say. I’ll choose life!
5.) I INTEND to read rigorous texts and follow the trail of ideas that have
come to us from centuries before we lived. There is nothing that exists
today that does not have an historical context. I have set a goal and made
a list of the books I will read this year.
6.) I INTEND, THIS YEAR, to financially and physically support ONLY
charities in my own locale – people in my own community and state are
worthy to receive our help and it’s part of being a good citizen to help
them as we can. My focus for gifting will be on
1.) animal protection and rescue in our county
2.) regional art organizations
3.) institutions of higher learning in our area.
Bob and I believe in building strong communities and it begins at HOME as
we all pitch in to make our HOME a better place to BE. We will be buying
all we can locally. We want to support local people. We love our village,
our small western Pennsylvania city, our state and this is where we chose to
spend our lives so of course, we want to make it better. We are proud to
live in Ellwood City, PA and we are committed to bringing honor to our own
community organizations. We love our neighbors and we love our community
and our state. We have a grateful and thankful heart for them all.
Hope you clicked on the blog and enjoyed the video - you'll be singing all
day long if you did.
Lynda
-----Original Message-----
From: Julie J. via stylist
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2015 6:42 AM
To: Vejas Vasiliauskas ; Writers' Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] motivating myself to write
Yes, I get you! I also freeze when I'm confronted by a blank document.
Very odd, I have no clue why. anyway, I open my journal file and free
write. In that file, I feel free to write absolutely whatever, how
frustrated I am with my writing, a new recipe I want to try, rants about
kids who don't do the dishes...*smile* Once I get writing something,
anything, what I wanted to write comes easier. I might even write in my
journal and then cut and paste to a different document.
I also work on several writing projects. I am currently working on a
fiction book, a nonfiction book, some story submissions for contests, blog
posts and of course there is the short bits on Facebook and by email. I
find that if I don't have something to write on a particular project, I will
on another. It does mean that everything gets done more slowly though. If
none of that works, I will read an article on character development or
research some idea or fact I need to know.
In December I started writing 500 words per day. I've made a personal
commitment to write that much every. single. day. No exceptions and no
excuses. If I don't get my full amount in one day, I make it up the next.
I view it like brushing my teeth, it is just something I do.
Good luck!
Julie
Courage to Dare: A Blind Woman's Quest to Train her Own Guide Dog is now
available! Get the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QXZSMOC
Visit my new website on developing courage and living authentically:
http://www.falling-up.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Vejas Vasiliauskas via stylist
Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2015 9:48 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] motivating myself to write
Hi All,
I was wondering what you all do to motivate yourselves to write
when you feel stuck.
It was easy for me to write last year because I was in creative
writing class, so if I wanted a good grade I had to write, which
I thought was great!
I have lots of different characters in my head. I conduct
stories about them all in my head as well, and know their names,
ages, personalities, etc. But often when it comes to me wanting
to write about them, I open a document and just freeze. I really
want to keep writing, though. I just find it strange that I have
all the information about them in my head but when it gets to
having to write it on paper it's totally different.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Any suggestions on what I can do to get my creative juices
flowing in the written word?
Thanks,
Vejas
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