Everyday Hurdlers
Hurdling: the act of jumping over an obstacle
Everyday Hurdlers
Track and Field is one of my favorite sports. It relies on individual talent as well as a team effort. I loved running because of the freedom and the rhythmic sensation of repetitive movement. I always felt like a new person after a good run. Spent but invigorated if that makes sense.
Hurdle jumping was never my thing. It looked a little like flying to me, but I never quite got the hang of it. My back foot kept clipping the top bar of the hurdle sending me and the barrier into a heap. Since my track and field days, I’ve recognized that the sport of hurdle jumping is good practice for everyday life. I mean, who doesn’t have some kind of obstacle, big or small, to overcome on a daily basis?
Writers face a number of challenges specific to the work such as finding ideas, making time to write, shitty first drafts, marketing, and competition for the eyes and money of readers. It’s great that lots of people write, but not so great that self-publishing has allowed quite a few stinker books into the ether and burned many readers as a result.
Readers are even more cautious about buying books, which is Economics 101, but poorly written and edited books have created another obstacle for writers/authors. Readers do not think that authors should be paid very much for their work. In my mind, the only way over (or around) this barrier is to produce good work, get professional editing, stay positive, and be persistent. A good attitude is sometimes the only thing that will get one over a hurdle.
I can think of two moments in my adult life that threatened to derail my forward momentum as an author, editor, book coach, and educator. One was the C-word. Cancer certainly sucks, but I overcame it with the help of an amazing team of family, friends, co-workers, doctors, amaze-ball nurses, and natural healers all working together.
The experience changed my dreams in a way. It made them bigger and brighter, and I might be a little more driven to overachieve as a result of the “lost” time required to heal. I say “thank you” more than before, and I mean it. I became more appreciative of everything from the tiniest to the grandest.
The other event involved the traumatic loss of my dad. In that instance, another team of incredible, selfless, smart, kick-ass people helped me through it. I learned something from both situations that I apply to the life hurdles I have encountered ever since.
What have you learned, Grasshopper?
I’m a Scorpio. That means my motto is “I’d rather do it myself, thank you very much, even though I’m sure you’re quite capable and all that, but I’d rather do it myself.” The lesson I learned in both instances was to inhale deeply, exhale slowly, and trust someone else with the expertise to take the lead. I couldn’t do my own surgery. I couldn’t argue a case in a court of law, although I might like to try it someday. I had to put all my trust into complete strangers (another difficult thing for Scorps) and believe that the best would happen. And it did.
The one tool that enables me to examine my anxieties is journaling. I have relied on it for years, and it helps me see my life hurdles clearly and to know when I need to reach out for help. There is strength and power in knowing when to get help. Kind of like flying over a hurdle in the middle of a running track without clipping your toe on the barrier. Sometimes I grew wings and sailed over the hurdle leaving it behind me but still standing. My hubris and I did a high-five, and I kept on running. Just like you, I come upon different sizes of obstacles every day. Journaling gets me over them.
I hope your WRITEDAY is fantastic.
Joy
Women with clean houses do not have finished books. ~Joy E. Held
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Inspiring post, Joy! Thanks for sharing!
Inspiring pep talk. I used to be good at hurdles and running. Now I am satisfied to be walking without tripping. But age is no need to scale back goals in writing. So true that the quantity if subpar writing and editing out there lowers the value of good writing. But if the readers find us they tend to stick with us.