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Ten Things I Learned This Year

Read this on galpod.com.

Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

On Friday, I asked myself and my writing group what have we learned over the school year. It was a worthwhile question. We often don’t realise how much we grow until we find a pair of shoes that used to fit. I see it with the kids. So, in no particular order, here’s a list of things I’ve learned this year.


  1. Don’t ask for feedback if you don’t want to do the work. The point of creativity is enjoying the process. So if it feels like a chore, maybe don’t do it? If you can? If you must, you can always return to it later.

  2. Rejection sucks. Even if you treat yourself for every rejection, it still sucks. That’s ok. Let yourself be mad at everyone involved. Let yourself be sad, disappointed, discouraged, infuriated. Then get back to work.

  3. Morning pages work. They just do. Give yourself the gift of asking yourself what you think and truly listening for the answer.

  4. You’re 43 and still haven’t figured “it” out yet. It’s probably unfigureoutable. Relax and breathe. It’ll be fine.

  5. It’s a cycle, not a linear process. Some days will be better; some will be worse. Do what you can on the good days, and try to commit them to memory to cheer yourself up on the bad ones.

  6. Baking is creative. And no one ever says no to cupcakes.

  7. Self-care takes time, but then you have more energy and get more things done, so really, it’s increasing efficiency. That argument should keep the capitalists happy.

  8. Read. It’s good for you.

  9. You never know where the opportunities will take you. Say yes if you can, but don’t worry about it if some days you can’t.

  10. Teenagers have hormones. It’s not their fault. It isn’t yours, either. You can’t fix it for them, but you can walk by their side.

 

Programming note: I'm out for summer holidays, and will be back in September with more posts and prompts. If you are writing over the summer, you might find the prompts useful.

 

Hey there! Thanks for reading :) I would love to hear your thoughts about this. Just leave a comment below, click on the chat icon in the bottom right corner, or reply to the email.

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