Note to Self: Remember This!

SmallStonesThe person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

            — Chinese proverb

I should have this proverb tattooed on the top of my right hand.  So I would see it every day and remember this simple, but very important concept.

It is in my nature to have a great idea and go full steam ahead with it – expecting to create or change whatever it is, in an impossible time frame.  Then… I get overwhelmed. When I am overwhelmed, I become stuck, the task is too large and I don’t know where or how to begin. So I don’t do anything at all and feel like a failure.

I am an intelligent, mature person.  Why do I insist on making things harder on myself?  If three therapists over the years can’t help me answer that question…

I have several ‘mountains’ I want to move these days. Each one requires patience, perseverance and a lot of time.  They should not be done in haste, or, as my folks called it, half-assed, because they are important to me. No boss or taskmaster is looking over my shoulder, or anxiously waiting for these mountains to get moved.  The only ones who give a flying hoot about these things are Me, Myself, and I.

You would think I could give myself a break! Sometimes I do. Then taking a break from one, leaves room for working on another one. Therefore, I am floating in the breeze, not getting anything finished.

You may have noticed this, my dear reader, but my blog posts are few these days. And yes, I know they are boring – a fact I plan on correcting.

Oh wait! That’s another mountain, isn’t it?

Damn!

Gotta Go…

 

 

 

 


 

 

Encouragement (and a Little Hope)

I came across this quote today while cleaning my office:

The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

— Chinese proverb

MonkWriting
I really needed to read that.

I have tried to move a mountain with a bulldozer, big chunks at a time, in my impatient way of doing things, and it is not going well…

I haven’t even opened the file that contains my novel in weeks. This alone makes me feel like a big loser instead of a writer working on a novel. I have started many novels in my life and got distracted by something (or just got bored with the story), only to abandon them to the bottom drawer.

I can’t let that happen to this one – it is too good.

I worry that I won’t be able to get back into the groove after weeks have gone by. From a distance, the novel becomes an immense, complicated project and completely out of my league. Self-doubt gnaws at me with familiar voices. “You’re wasting your time,” “You write like a kid,” “It’s way too corny to be taken seriously” – and those are the nice ones.

Funny how one sentence can put things into a new perspective – that encourages and gives hope. A sentence that states a simple truth, that can be applied to many things for many people.

Yes, my novel is a huge undertaking and overwhelming when I dwell on it. If I just take it one small section, one chapter, at a time, then I can get it finished.

Thank You, Chinese monks, writing proverbs.
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photo credit: ed 37 ~~ via photopin