Smiley Board

In a recent post on her blog Cathy C's Hall of Fame my writing Yoda posed the question, "What's over your writing spot?"  I thought it an interesting question because we all have different ideas about what should motivate/inspire us to get our butts in gear.

As it happens, I have a bulletin board full of family photos.  This was not the original use for the bulletin board.  The board was supposed to be a place for me to post submission deadlines, inspirational quotes, snippets of grammatical and spelling reminders, you know, writerly stuff.  It is, instead, a collage of pictures. Not exactly what I had planned for my mad rush to publication.

In considering this, I realized that no matter how frustrated I become with the tap-tap-tapping of my fingers on the keyboard and the way it translates to the screen (rarely flashes of brilliance I'm sorry to say), all I have to do is look up and there are a dozen smiling faces reminding me that if I never publish another thing the world won't end. My life is on that board in the images of people I love, and as it turns out, that is a pretty strong motivator, especially when I'm balancing the checkbook which requires frequent glances at those photos of happy people and, often, a big fat glass of wine (but that's for another post).

Lest you think my writing space is all fun and games, I do have an erasable two month calendar tacked up next to my smiley board. This keeps track of submission deadlines and other writer type stuff so I don't feel like a total slacker.

What is your great motivator? I don't mean just for writing; I mean for anything. What motivates you to keep going on days when you'd really rather halt the world and go take a nap, or hide under one of those little umbrellas the bartender drops into your Mai Tai? Personally, I have a lot of motivators, internal and external. But I gotta say that smiley board is the best shot in the arm ever.

Til next time -
Lisa

Tomorrow - Plan On It!

I have spent a lot of time sitting on my backside waiting for things to happen.  And by "things" I don't mean an end to the laundry spin cycle or the percolator to brew that perfect cup of java. I mean THINGS, like a new job or an opportunity to do something important. You know...THINGS.

How often have you heard a friend say, "Next year when I have more money. . ." or "Once I find a better job. . ."  Maybe you are even the person saying it.  The question is, what is being done to make the THING happen?  

My brother told me once that a goal without a plan is just a dream.  Boy, was he right.  It turns out that THINGS rarely happen on their own.  We have to make them happen, or at least point our lives in the right direction.  Who knew?

Yeah, that sounds pretty obvious, but as a kid I was a natural optimist, be-bopping along figuring whatever was wrong with today would surely be better tomorrow.  A little angel magic would come along, right?  What I know now that I didn't know then is that waiting for THINGS does not make them happen.  The angel magic exists, but it is found in the planning and the working, the sometimes sweating and fighting for our end goal.

Whatever it is you want, go for it. Life is too short, buttercup, to wait for tomorrow. 

Better that we plan for it, instead.

Til next time -

Lisa