I stressed over this blog until I realized the time had come for me to ... chill. I'm afraid writers-women tend to put everything and everyone before ourselves. I'm under the gun to finish a work started months ago. My publisher has been more kind than most would be but I've still had a difficult time completing my work. Is it because I've lost my fire for writing? No.
I've lost the ability to block out all the "other" stuff in my life. Consequently the other things in my life have pushed me to the point of shutdown. Today was a perfectly good day for writing but my system completely shut down and while I was up by 9 am, I slept from 2pm until 6pm. All the stress over the possibility of losing my job to worrying about making enough money to support my family and facing writing deadlines finally took their toll. When my body hits the wall, it shuts down.
So don't be like me. Take a day in the middle of writing that novel or playing chauffeur/maid/social director to stroll through a park and breathe. Don't think of the next story arc or red herring you'll need to capture the reader's attention, stop worrying about how your blog tour is progressing and most of all stop putting yourself last.
The picture above is of Haunama Bay in Hawaii. I visited several times when I lived in the Islands and the one thing I remember about my visits is how relaxed I felt when I left.
Imagining myself there is my little piece of relaxation. Find yours.
Sable Angel
A very wise post. How can we take of anyone and anything else unless we take care of ourselves? Sorry you hit the wall, but glad you took the time to take care of yourself.
ReplyDelete-Amber Angel