SUCCESS?
It's that time of the year, as the months zoom past faster than they have any right to, that most of us begin to wonder what on earth have we done with said year.
Recently among various writing buddies I've had some interesting conversations regarding success.
According to the Oxford Dictionary...success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.
According to some training I did a month ago...success is a high self image and happiness.
For me, it's a mix of the two. That small glow when the lawns are mowed...success. Managing thirty sit ups...success. Finally seeing the swathe of flowers you planted over a year ago in flower...success.
When I began writing, the idea of success was easy. So very easy. It was seeing something of mine in print.
The first story I had published was in the, now long gone, Aussie Post. Someone I knew had written a 'yarn' and had it published. And paid for. I wondered how hard could it be....wrote a story, sent it in. And waited. I never heard from them but on a whim I picked up the magazine one day....and there it was.
My story.
The 'wow' I felt that day was truly amazing. There was my story, my words, my idea put down onto paper. Others were reading it. The fact that they paid as well was the icing. And there was my name....in print.
But of course, being human, I wanted more. I wrote more, I sent more out...I studied, learnt the ins and outs (and yes learning how to write never means that you can). But slowly, over the following years, goals were met.
I had a children's book 'Whistler's Mine' published. It was sent to the US as well as China and other countries as a school reader. Once again that wow feeling...people were reading what I had written.
A few poems there, a few short stories here, and then three more children's books...my lovely Cinnamon as the star. My short story collection.
Over the years, and yes it has been years, I have built up a small part of a shelf with my 'stuff'. Not only the books, but issues that I've been published in, magazines that I was part of the editing team.
And is that enough? Do I look at that shelf and think, yep I've met my goals, achieved what I wanted in the beginning...to be published.
Of course not. And after talking to my writing buddies, I'm not alone in this. Success is such a transient thing. At the beginning we say we want THIS. We struggle and work hard, damned hard to achieve THIS. Then we have it. Most of us never take the time to appreciate THIS. We glance at it, say 'it's nice'...but now I want THIS.
Not happy with achieving 30 sit ups, I want to do more. Not content with my hellebores flowering in a river of colour beneath the pineapple sage....I see the empty space to the left and want something there.
It's hard to look at what we have achieved and celebrate it. Very hard. That part of us that is never happy, that small voice begins to nag. I find it difficult to look at my garden and simply appreciate all the hard work we've put into it. I see all that needs to be done. (which explains why I take my Tuesday garden photo....to help celebrate what we have achieved).
I tend to see my shelf of 'successes' and then THAT voice begins with .....so what have you added recently? When was the last poem published? When did you last get a story out there? What exactly are you doing?
We are never content to sit back and rest. To say yes I did that and damn I'm proud.
So this is my ten seconds worth of 'I did all this and I'm proud.' Yes ten seconds. Because now THAT voice is back, demanding to know what happens next.
It's a human condition to always want more.
But for a few moments let's all stop and celebrate what we have achieved. And be deservedly damned proud!
Vicki
http://vickithornton.weebly.com/
Recently among various writing buddies I've had some interesting conversations regarding success.
According to the Oxford Dictionary...success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.
According to some training I did a month ago...success is a high self image and happiness.
For me, it's a mix of the two. That small glow when the lawns are mowed...success. Managing thirty sit ups...success. Finally seeing the swathe of flowers you planted over a year ago in flower...success.
When I began writing, the idea of success was easy. So very easy. It was seeing something of mine in print.
The first story I had published was in the, now long gone, Aussie Post. Someone I knew had written a 'yarn' and had it published. And paid for. I wondered how hard could it be....wrote a story, sent it in. And waited. I never heard from them but on a whim I picked up the magazine one day....and there it was.
My story.
The 'wow' I felt that day was truly amazing. There was my story, my words, my idea put down onto paper. Others were reading it. The fact that they paid as well was the icing. And there was my name....in print.
But of course, being human, I wanted more. I wrote more, I sent more out...I studied, learnt the ins and outs (and yes learning how to write never means that you can). But slowly, over the following years, goals were met.
I had a children's book 'Whistler's Mine' published. It was sent to the US as well as China and other countries as a school reader. Once again that wow feeling...people were reading what I had written.
A few poems there, a few short stories here, and then three more children's books...my lovely Cinnamon as the star. My short story collection.
Over the years, and yes it has been years, I have built up a small part of a shelf with my 'stuff'. Not only the books, but issues that I've been published in, magazines that I was part of the editing team.
And is that enough? Do I look at that shelf and think, yep I've met my goals, achieved what I wanted in the beginning...to be published.
Of course not. And after talking to my writing buddies, I'm not alone in this. Success is such a transient thing. At the beginning we say we want THIS. We struggle and work hard, damned hard to achieve THIS. Then we have it. Most of us never take the time to appreciate THIS. We glance at it, say 'it's nice'...but now I want THIS.
Not happy with achieving 30 sit ups, I want to do more. Not content with my hellebores flowering in a river of colour beneath the pineapple sage....I see the empty space to the left and want something there.
It's hard to look at what we have achieved and celebrate it. Very hard. That part of us that is never happy, that small voice begins to nag. I find it difficult to look at my garden and simply appreciate all the hard work we've put into it. I see all that needs to be done. (which explains why I take my Tuesday garden photo....to help celebrate what we have achieved).
I tend to see my shelf of 'successes' and then THAT voice begins with .....so what have you added recently? When was the last poem published? When did you last get a story out there? What exactly are you doing?
We are never content to sit back and rest. To say yes I did that and damn I'm proud.
So this is my ten seconds worth of 'I did all this and I'm proud.' Yes ten seconds. Because now THAT voice is back, demanding to know what happens next.
It's a human condition to always want more.
But for a few moments let's all stop and celebrate what we have achieved. And be deservedly damned proud!
Vicki
http://vickithornton.weebly.com/
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