From December 2010
Tis the Season...
To be way behind on everything. Including posting today. Whoops. Sorry about that!
(Ironic that this post is so relevant to me right now still! Our house got hit with the flu the last two days--well, just my boys, but trust me, it was a veritable body fluid fun fest. Blech. Anyway, the point is, I'm behind on everything again!)
I found this quote today, and it seemed an appropriate one for me. Maybe you will find it inspiring as well.
"There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." - Epictetus
I have said it before, I tend to be a worrier. I used to worry that I worried too much. The older I am, and the more things I "get" to worry about (two children [3 now!], mortgages, bills, health, etc., etc.), I've slowly begun to learn not to worry so much. It was either that, or go insane. I can't control everything. In fact, there are very few things I can actually control at all. That are "within the power of my will." I have to focus on doing my best with the things I can control and have trust and faith that everything else will work out the way it is supposed to.
Even in writing, we have a lot we can control, but there is so much that we can't. Elana Johnson did a fabulous post about "luck" in the process of getting published and it really hit home for me, and probably a lot of you. We all have to keep working hard, honing our craft (no matter what stage we're at--querying agents, on submission with editors, or published author working on subsequent books), and moving forward. But there are always things we can't control that could cause us worry. Will this agent/editor love my writing enough to offer to represent me/buy it? Will my book sell well? Will I get another deal? Will I be able to write another book as good as my first one? There are always worries. But I'm trying to learn to let them go.
I've yet to read a study telling us how good worrying is for our mental or physical health. So I am consciously trying to worry less--to do what I can do, and let go of the rest. How about you? What are you worried about? And can you do anything about it or not?
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