By Stacy Voss
I am a writer. I also
speak about gratitude and contentment. Yes, the two seem mutually exclusive,
don’t they? The process of writing—or more specifically, getting our writing
published—is an arena filled with more competition, more obstacles and let’s admit
it, more rejections than ever before. How could one ever find contentment in
the midst of that?
I’ve discovered the
answer begins by clearly understanding why I write. If my
whole goal is to get my name in print or to have so many publications by a certain
date, then there’s a good chance I will fail because these goals are affected
by external factors. Publishing houses might merge or cut their budgets. Maybe
a magazine already accepted an article similar to mine, but they haven’t run it
yet. Who knows what the reason might be, but the reality is that sometimes our
writing is turned down for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with our
writing!
So what are we to do? We
can create goals that aren’t dependent upon anything other than ourselves. That
can look different for everybody. Perhaps your goal is to write for 15 minutes
every day. Maybe it’s to submit two articles a month (yes, I saidsubmit,
regardless of the outcome). Or maybe your goals aren’t number driven, but are
result-oriented. I know of a literary agent who wrote an entire novel with the
hopes that his son would read it and would re-evaluate the way he was living.
And guess what? He did! No one other than this guy read the work: a novel read
by an audience of one. A hugely successful novel, that is. My definition of
success is if my writing and/or speaking causes someone to draw closer to God.
It’s that simple.
And yet it isn’t.
Let’s be honest. We live
in a number-oriented, goal-driven society. We can create these internal goals,
yet the external pressures can still weigh us down, especially as we get a
rejection letter. Again. So let’s put some numbers to it. Baseball numbers, that
is.
Three hundred is a great
batting record and is something players strive for. But what does that number
mean? Simply, it states that for every 10 pitches, a batter will hit three.
Yes, three. So what if you get seven rejection letters? Does it mean you’re a
failure? Hardly! It just means you’re getting closer to that acceptance (but
it’s also a good opportunity to have someone else review your work if you
haven’t already). I keep an excel spreadsheet tracking which articles I’ve sent
where and what their status is. Last, I checked, I was right around having 30%
of my articles published. That means there are several sitting on my computer
unseen by anyone but an editor and myself, yet there are others that have been
read by audiences around the world. And you know what?
I’m quite content.
______________________________________________________________________
Stacy Voss is starting
a gratitude revolution. She coined the word “Gratimoments,” which enrich hearts
and minds through gratitude. She frequently posts her Gratimoments on Facebook
and Twitter, and encourages others to do the same. She is an author and speaker
known for using story to teach compelling principles with authenticity and
vulnerability. She encourages others to “See Life Differently. Live
Courageously” at www.eyesofyourheart.com. Seize the Gratimoment mugs and other
gratitude-related merchandise are available at www.eyesofyourheart.com . Stacy lives in Colorado with her two energetic
kids and a tender black lab. Connect with her at https://www.facebook.com/Gratimoments or
on twitter:@StacyVoss
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