A downer day. A period of dejection. Insecurity. Loneliness. Times where everyone seems to be either walking over you or aiming at you with a steamroller. Everyone has these.
My best solution for getting out of these kinds of pits: forget about yourself. When things are at its blackest, search for someone else who is struggling and help them out. Unable to find an immediate service project? Make a list of things you're grateful for.
Since I'm surfacing from a very black period, myself, I thought I'd share some of my thankful list. Also noting how grateful I am that I did find some people to focus on rather than sit and stew over myself for the past week.
1- I am grateful for my mother. Not for the usual things only. I'm grateful she is a writer. I never received those "You must be crazy" or "Writing's just a hobby, right, dear?" looks from her. She understood. She persevered. She knows the sting of rejection. She knows how much a full-rewrite or line edit can take out of you. I can talk writing shop to her without having to stop and explain terminology or how the industry works. I've learned from some of her mistakes and she's learned from some of mine.
2- I'm grateful for the eccentric, oddball family I grew up in. We were geeks. We had lots of inside jokes and could carry on conversations in complete movie quotes. We mashed things up, spent entire evenings sitting around talking, and gave each other hugs each night before bed.
3- I'm grateful for my husband. He believes in me, pushes me, tries to conquer my insecurity dragons with the wave of a cape. When I become so stressed that I can't sleep, health issues flare up, and I have to pace, he lets me vent. He makes me laugh and can disarm my anger swiftly. I don't know what I'd do without him.
4- I'm grateful for my children. I love their imaginations, their questions, and their ideas. We have great conversations. I learn a lot from them. They accept the fact that mom does this writing thing nearly every day and take stabs at it themselves. We read together every day. The weekly trip to the library is always anticipated with excitement and when they've finished reading a book they like to give me a full synopsis along with their feelings about it.
5- I'm grateful that I have a life outside of writing. Without it, I would have been lost the past week. I have other creative outlets, books to read for fun, experiments in the kitchen to make, people to visit in person to talk to, places I like to go, and a newly fixed piano to express my feelings upon.
So there are my top five. How about you?
My best solution for getting out of these kinds of pits: forget about yourself. When things are at its blackest, search for someone else who is struggling and help them out. Unable to find an immediate service project? Make a list of things you're grateful for.
Since I'm surfacing from a very black period, myself, I thought I'd share some of my thankful list. Also noting how grateful I am that I did find some people to focus on rather than sit and stew over myself for the past week.
1- I am grateful for my mother. Not for the usual things only. I'm grateful she is a writer. I never received those "You must be crazy" or "Writing's just a hobby, right, dear?" looks from her. She understood. She persevered. She knows the sting of rejection. She knows how much a full-rewrite or line edit can take out of you. I can talk writing shop to her without having to stop and explain terminology or how the industry works. I've learned from some of her mistakes and she's learned from some of mine.
2- I'm grateful for the eccentric, oddball family I grew up in. We were geeks. We had lots of inside jokes and could carry on conversations in complete movie quotes. We mashed things up, spent entire evenings sitting around talking, and gave each other hugs each night before bed.
3- I'm grateful for my husband. He believes in me, pushes me, tries to conquer my insecurity dragons with the wave of a cape. When I become so stressed that I can't sleep, health issues flare up, and I have to pace, he lets me vent. He makes me laugh and can disarm my anger swiftly. I don't know what I'd do without him.
4- I'm grateful for my children. I love their imaginations, their questions, and their ideas. We have great conversations. I learn a lot from them. They accept the fact that mom does this writing thing nearly every day and take stabs at it themselves. We read together every day. The weekly trip to the library is always anticipated with excitement and when they've finished reading a book they like to give me a full synopsis along with their feelings about it.
5- I'm grateful that I have a life outside of writing. Without it, I would have been lost the past week. I have other creative outlets, books to read for fun, experiments in the kitchen to make, people to visit in person to talk to, places I like to go, and a newly fixed piano to express my feelings upon.
So there are my top five. How about you?
