If I could bottle last week, I’d secure it in indestructible plastic lined with asbestos, wrap it in material fit to withstand nuclear blasts, label it poisonous, and wail it off the tail end of a fast-moving jet from 30,000 feet. Yea, that bad. It seems the conflicts were everywhere. Home life was a lesson in readjustment after the once-empty house fills back up. Work life was full of stresses, unnecessary hassles, and projects dangling then disappearing like ghosts on the Sci-Fi channel. Between low-ballers, changed project parameters and scummy companies, I was dancing with the migraine threat all week.
This week is new. It can be better. It will be better. It only takes a turn in perspective and a new approach each morning to bring things around. Time to refocus and renew. Today is my New Year’s Day – that time when things are full of promise, full of something other than the latest load of, well, dung.
As I sat writing this at the end of that nasty week (yes, sometimes I write these posts ahead), my mindset had already begun to shift. And almost simultaneously, new work came in. I’d think it’s coincidence, but it’s not the first time that’s happened. I’ve visualized a better situation and there it is – projects and work coming in.
It’s easy to get sidetracked when things are building to high-stress levels or when money isn’t in your foreseeable future. But nothing is ever hopeless. With a little mental muscle flexing and some changes in your approach, things will improve.
Have you ever done that? Have you ever stood back and reaffirmed your beginning? Try it. Sometimes when the dung is raining down on you like it’s monsoon season, stepping back, breathing, and walking in a different direction is a great way to put your mindset – and your work day – back on track.
Indeed. Nothing is ever hopeless. Great post.
Thanks for the inspirational post! You've really demonstrated how uplifting positive thinking can be. Things do get better.
Ditto. For me, literally taking a walk (in any direction!) renews my mental energy and motivation. Thanks for saying so well what we all need to hear once in a while.
You are so right, Lori! It can sometimes be easy to forget, but taking a step back to redirect or re-shift mental thinking can really help change things. I've had times where new work felt like a dried up river, but re-focusing my energy and being positive helped to change that. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Ah, just call me Susie Sunshine. I'm so perky sometimes I just want to slap myself. 🙂
It's going to be tough not being discouraged this week and next – vacation season is upon us. Had the beginning of this year been great, I'd not fret. Last year I was able to coast through these months without much worry. This year, worry. Yuck.
Well, Susie Sunshine, meet Pollyanna Paula. I'm down to one assignment, but have another property tax payment looming, so I *need* some good assignments ASAP. But I've been down this road enough times to know that if you let that sense of desperation into your head, it comes across to your clients, editors, and prospects.
It's like the cascade effect, where one small problem upsets or distracts you, leading to another problem, then another…
So I'm keeping positive thoughts that I will have new assignments by the end of the week. I'm sending queries, LOIs, and contacting a couple of editors I haven't heard from in a while. Some may call me delusional, but I prefer the term, "positively proactive."
Just plaster a big smile on your face, and "fake it til you make it."
I'm going to try it as it's the second time I've been "told" new week, new start in as many days. There must be something in it, but my new week starts on a Tuesday …
See Diane? Every day's a new beginning. 🙂
Paula, move over. I'm hopping on that positivity train alongside you!
Amie, thanks for repeating my own words right back to me. Much needed. :)) I'm sitting here chanting my mantra and grinning like an idiot. LOL