I have friends who are self motivated, and others who have no idea what they want to achieve in life. While we all go through phases where we don't have goals or we're not really thinking about anything ambitious, but then comes a time when it's necessary to shake things up a little bit and go further. Achieve something. Do something that matters to you. That's why I find it difficult to understand how someone doesn't have goals, the only thing that explains it is that they haven't yet found what they're passionate about.
How does one get motivated to do great things? To set goals and work to achieve them? Keep going even when faced with obstacles that appear impossible to overcome?
The things that motivate me might not be motivating for you or someone else. On the other hand your own motivations may have little or no influence on me. That's fine. We all have to find what works for us.
My goals motivate me because they are my own. I've always wanted to be a writer. This fact alone makes me want to keep writing, keep sending out queries and working towards a career as a freelance writer. I've made a few mistakes this year and I hope to amend them and become a successful freelance writer. This motivates me. When I see my name in print it motivates me. When someone says something positive about my writing, it motivates me. When I make some money from my writing, it motivates me. When my writing touches someone, it motivates me.
At the beginning of the month I had a goal to complete 50,000 word novel for NaNoWriMo. How have I stayed motivated? Well, the goal is important to me and I want to prove to myself that I have it in me to achieve the 50,000 mark and beyond. If I don't finish I know that I'll be kicking myself. My motivation is the desire to make a full time living from being a writer. I know that if I don't do it, no one is going to do it for me. The same goes for your own goals. No one is going to achieve them for you. But the best thing is the sweet feeling of success in the end. Nothing in the world can buy that. Unfortunately throughout the past couple of weeks I've had limited writing time and lots of wasting time. Now I'm playing catch up.
Another thing I want to do is run a marathon. How do I stay motivated to train and actually do it? Yesterday I tested myself whether I was capable of running for over an hour. I am. I managed ninety minutes and 17.5km. That's the most I've ever run. This also tells me that I am capable of running the half marathon. I've set myself a goal to run one in March. My motivation is that I've set a goal, I've made it public and now I got to do it. It's also a way to keep me in shape and allow me to eat reasonably what I want without worrying about weight gain. It's something I always wanted to do because it's within my control. Once I complete that I'll start training for the full marathon.
It's important to have goals that mean something to you personally in order to stay motivated and keep going with something. These goals also need to be achievable. Thinking that you'll write a novel in a month when you've barely finished a short story isn't going to keep you motivated, it's going to look overwhelming and impossible. Writing five hundred words a day on the other hand may be achievable. The same goes for running a marathon. To stay motivated for the long term it's vital to have short term goals. Run three times this week. Include interval training next week. Start in a 5km or 10km to practice running in large groups. These goals are less overwhelming but they bring you a step closer to the final goal. Running a marathon. Writing a novel. Or achieving whatever else you want to achieve.
So now I'm going back to my writing, I've got a goal to reach and story to finish.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Plain or Sophisticated?
There's something relaxing and motivating about sitting in cafés and writing. They're one of my favourite places to write. The only prerequisite is a comfy table, good coffee and quality sandwiches. Whether what I write is legible, decent or crap is irrelevant. The most important thing is that I manage to put words on paper. I can worry about coherence later.
In one of today's TEFL lessons my students and I discussed the issue of communication. For writers communication is very important. That's what we do. Our purpose is to communicate information across to our reader in the most comprehensible way while trying to avoid jargon and verbose prose. Instead we want brevity that will transfer all the information necessary as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Should we use plain or sophisticated language?
I found there's a mixed argument when it comes to deciding on an answer. It all depends on your audience. Are you going to communicate with doctors, lawyers, and business professionals? Or students, housewives and the general public? If you have a look at most consumer magazines, they are written in plain language that a primary school student is likely to understand. Trade magazines on the other hand use more technical terminology. Once you're clear on that you can safely decide whether throw in a bit of sophisticated jargon or stick to the plain, intelligible stuff. My language use is usually very plain. I talk to people who sometimes try to throw in fancy words to sound intelligent but unless it serves a larger purpose it downright sounds silly. Personally, I don't see the point in using terminology that makes you sound smart but no one understands.
So the conclusion I've come to is;
In one of today's TEFL lessons my students and I discussed the issue of communication. For writers communication is very important. That's what we do. Our purpose is to communicate information across to our reader in the most comprehensible way while trying to avoid jargon and verbose prose. Instead we want brevity that will transfer all the information necessary as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Should we use plain or sophisticated language?
I found there's a mixed argument when it comes to deciding on an answer. It all depends on your audience. Are you going to communicate with doctors, lawyers, and business professionals? Or students, housewives and the general public? If you have a look at most consumer magazines, they are written in plain language that a primary school student is likely to understand. Trade magazines on the other hand use more technical terminology. Once you're clear on that you can safely decide whether throw in a bit of sophisticated jargon or stick to the plain, intelligible stuff. My language use is usually very plain. I talk to people who sometimes try to throw in fancy words to sound intelligent but unless it serves a larger purpose it downright sounds silly. Personally, I don't see the point in using terminology that makes you sound smart but no one understands.
So the conclusion I've come to is;
- avoid rambling
- limit the use of jargon because it's likely you won't be understood
- use brevity to get your point across effectively
- verbose prose with technical terminology will not necessarily make you sound more intelligent
- effective communication is important whether you're speaking or writing
- in the end do what feels most comfortable for you
For me this shows that I need to be more aware of my audience, and keep jargon, buzzwords and slang to a minimum. Yes, sometimes it's nice to use fancy words, just make sure they work with your topic and its purpose. In the end, which you choose to use will depend on what you're writing, who you're writing for, and your personal writing style.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Evaluating Ourselves
Once again it's grey outside. The sky grows darker with every minute and at about 5pm it's going to be nightfall. While it isn't as cold as usual for November, about five to ten degrees throughout the day, it's been a wet month so far, and I can't remember when I last saw some sunshine. Two weeks ago, maybe three. The only thing worth doing when it's like this is snuggling under a warm blanket with a good book and a hot cup of tea. Sounds lovely, if there wasn't so much work to do.
Yesterday's post left me thinking about a lot of things in my life. This morning I stumbled upon an interesting post from Scott H Young about failure and success (www.scotthyoung.com/blog). He talks about rushing for our goal, but not being patient enough to get a taste of success. While we underestimate what we are capable of achieving, when it comes to time frames we're always rushing and wanting immediate results. We want everything right now. It's like that with money. It's like that with success. We want it all at electrifying speed. That's how I've always wanted things to happen too.
I've been writing since I was a little girl. I recall writing short stories at school, a small illustrated children's book at age ten. Poetry later in primary school, and lots of journal writing. At about twelve or thirteen I began writing longer stories, then I attempted numerous novels which ended up in the trash can. I wanted success quickly. I wanted it right away. What I didn't realise though was that I could be a writer. Even when people didn't take my dream seriously, I knew that it was possible. What I didn't know was how long it was going to take me.
Sixteen years later I am still writing. My apprenticeship continues. I have learnt a lot but there's still so much that I must learn. Only two years ago did I build up the courage to send my writing out to magazines. And guess what? I got published. Not right away. Not always paid. But I got published. My only regret is that I didn't start out sooner. That I was afraid of showing anyone my writing. I suppose this blog is also helping me over come that fear. That's why it's important to follow your dreams, work hard towards success and don't just think about the end result, enjoy the progress and sooner or alter success will follow.
It's still grey outside but I'm inside doing what I love doing most. Creating stories, coming up with article ideas and writing away. It takes time but it does happen. It's one step closer to making a living as a writer.
Yesterday's post left me thinking about a lot of things in my life. This morning I stumbled upon an interesting post from Scott H Young about failure and success (www.scotthyoung.com/blog). He talks about rushing for our goal, but not being patient enough to get a taste of success. While we underestimate what we are capable of achieving, when it comes to time frames we're always rushing and wanting immediate results. We want everything right now. It's like that with money. It's like that with success. We want it all at electrifying speed. That's how I've always wanted things to happen too.
I've been writing since I was a little girl. I recall writing short stories at school, a small illustrated children's book at age ten. Poetry later in primary school, and lots of journal writing. At about twelve or thirteen I began writing longer stories, then I attempted numerous novels which ended up in the trash can. I wanted success quickly. I wanted it right away. What I didn't realise though was that I could be a writer. Even when people didn't take my dream seriously, I knew that it was possible. What I didn't know was how long it was going to take me.
Sixteen years later I am still writing. My apprenticeship continues. I have learnt a lot but there's still so much that I must learn. Only two years ago did I build up the courage to send my writing out to magazines. And guess what? I got published. Not right away. Not always paid. But I got published. My only regret is that I didn't start out sooner. That I was afraid of showing anyone my writing. I suppose this blog is also helping me over come that fear. That's why it's important to follow your dreams, work hard towards success and don't just think about the end result, enjoy the progress and sooner or alter success will follow.
It's still grey outside but I'm inside doing what I love doing most. Creating stories, coming up with article ideas and writing away. It takes time but it does happen. It's one step closer to making a living as a writer.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
In hindsight...
It's become difficult to believe how quickly this year has passed. I remember it felt like only yesterday that we were preparing for Christmas and New Year's Celebrations. Now it's all due to happen all over again. The year draws to an end, and we're all a little bit older, and hopefully a little bit wiser.
Every year gains speed on us, and the older we get, the quicker time disappears. That's why it's important to make the most of every day, to follow our dreams, and spend time with the people we love. It's equally important to be grateful for all the wonderful things that are in our lives. Our families and friends above all, but also the small things that we forget to be grateful for like clean water, food on the table, a roof over our heads, a good job, any job, education, freedom of speech, the ability to choose – to some extent at least.
This year I've been learning a lot about myself. I've realised that over the past decade I have focused on material things and keeping up, rather than following my own dreams. There's always been that inkling feel that my dreams and goals are not good enough. Now I realise that it doesn't matter what someone else is doing, I have to decide what is important to me regardless of the opinions of others.
I've made many mistakes by not thinking things through, and in hindsight I would have done things somewhat differently. I would have thought more before I spoke, considered numerous options before committing to serious decisions. Unfortunately I was blinded, and my common sense wavered. I hope that has changed. In the coming year, I hope to pay back my dues and become more satisfied with what I am doing.
As a writer, optimist and workaholic, I wonder about our actions a lot. I'd like to understand why we do certain things, why I have chosen to do certain things. Why I like what I do, and why I don't like what I don't. These things are important to discover along the way and they make us better human beings, more in tune with who we are and what we want out of life. I hope it's also something that will help me become a better writer.
The next several weeks are going to be about thinking about the decisions I have made in the past and where I have gone wrong, where I've made the right choice, how I could have done things differently, and what I have learnt from my actions. The idea of America's Thanksgiving Day appeals to me, and it's coming up this month. I'm going to think about all the people and things that I am grateful for, and try to show my gratefulness through my actions towards them. As they say, actions really do speak louder than words.
Every year gains speed on us, and the older we get, the quicker time disappears. That's why it's important to make the most of every day, to follow our dreams, and spend time with the people we love. It's equally important to be grateful for all the wonderful things that are in our lives. Our families and friends above all, but also the small things that we forget to be grateful for like clean water, food on the table, a roof over our heads, a good job, any job, education, freedom of speech, the ability to choose – to some extent at least.
This year I've been learning a lot about myself. I've realised that over the past decade I have focused on material things and keeping up, rather than following my own dreams. There's always been that inkling feel that my dreams and goals are not good enough. Now I realise that it doesn't matter what someone else is doing, I have to decide what is important to me regardless of the opinions of others.
I've made many mistakes by not thinking things through, and in hindsight I would have done things somewhat differently. I would have thought more before I spoke, considered numerous options before committing to serious decisions. Unfortunately I was blinded, and my common sense wavered. I hope that has changed. In the coming year, I hope to pay back my dues and become more satisfied with what I am doing.
As a writer, optimist and workaholic, I wonder about our actions a lot. I'd like to understand why we do certain things, why I have chosen to do certain things. Why I like what I do, and why I don't like what I don't. These things are important to discover along the way and they make us better human beings, more in tune with who we are and what we want out of life. I hope it's also something that will help me become a better writer.
The next several weeks are going to be about thinking about the decisions I have made in the past and where I have gone wrong, where I've made the right choice, how I could have done things differently, and what I have learnt from my actions. The idea of America's Thanksgiving Day appeals to me, and it's coming up this month. I'm going to think about all the people and things that I am grateful for, and try to show my gratefulness through my actions towards them. As they say, actions really do speak louder than words.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday 13th and other irrational beliefs
For many people Friday 13th marks an unlucky date. It's superstitious but for many it seems the case. What's the point in ruining your day from the very beginning. Sure the trains may have been late today, I didn't win on the lottery, and my inspiration is waning but that's no different to a couple of days ago, last week or last month. It happens from time to time. That's just a normal part of life. I'm not superstitious, at least most of the time. Then I think about all those other superstitions that I've come to know whilst being in Poland. Many have found international homes and are shared among cultures.
- An itchy nose can mean anger is on the way, or love
- Walking under a ladder brings bad luck so try to avoid it by walking around it instead
- Wear red underwear for an interview, test or meeting to bring you luck and success
- Spill some salt and you're likely to end up quarraling with someone
- Never buy shoes for your loved one because they will quickly walk away from you
- If you're a woman, avoid leaving your handbag on the floor unless you don't want money
- Avoid getting out of bed with your left leg as it will mean you'll be in a bad mood all day
Poland is filled with superstitutions, many are still strongly believed by the older generation and continues to be passed on to the younger generation. Superstitions are about belief. You either believe them or you don't. Some are fun, others are silly, and many more sound downright outrageous.
- An itchy nose can mean anger is on the way, or love
- Walking under a ladder brings bad luck so try to avoid it by walking around it instead
- Wear red underwear for an interview, test or meeting to bring you luck and success
- Spill some salt and you're likely to end up quarraling with someone
- Never buy shoes for your loved one because they will quickly walk away from you
- If you're a woman, avoid leaving your handbag on the floor unless you don't want money
- Avoid getting out of bed with your left leg as it will mean you'll be in a bad mood all day
Poland is filled with superstitutions, many are still strongly believed by the older generation and continues to be passed on to the younger generation. Superstitions are about belief. You either believe them or you don't. Some are fun, others are silly, and many more sound downright outrageous.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
XXI Bieg Niepodległosci
Yesterday marked the 91st anniversary of Poland's Independence. Many people celebrated on the streets and at home. Millions of homes hung the Polish flag out in front of their homes as a sign of patriotism and pride. Others took part in the parades. While seven thousand Poles, along with hundreds of their family and friends, took part in the XXI Bieg Niepodległości (21st Independence Day Run).
The 10km run takes place every year on 11/11. Thousands of people join in to run around Warsaw to celebrate Independence Day. This year Jarek and I took part as well. All the runners were dressed in red or white tshirts to represent the colours of the Polish flag. The aerial view would have been amazing.
I was very pleased with my result as I beat my last year's record for the 10km (56mins) by over five minutes, this years' 10km result was 50:51. I am extremely pleased especially considering the weather - overcast, cloudy, 6 degrees and raining. But it was fun.
The 10km run takes place every year on 11/11. Thousands of people join in to run around Warsaw to celebrate Independence Day. This year Jarek and I took part as well. All the runners were dressed in red or white tshirts to represent the colours of the Polish flag. The aerial view would have been amazing.
I was very pleased with my result as I beat my last year's record for the 10km (56mins) by over five minutes, this years' 10km result was 50:51. I am extremely pleased especially considering the weather - overcast, cloudy, 6 degrees and raining. But it was fun.
Monday, November 2, 2009
NaNoWriMo, Up for the Challenge?
National Novel Writing Month comes every November where over a hundred thousand people participate in the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. The prize being the satisfaction of completing and achieving such a huge goal and word count. For those who write, this is an impressive feat, for those who don't may not appreciate the challenge so much. Nevertheless, writing 50,000 words in thirty days isn't the easiest of tasks. Of course this doesn't mean that it has to be a perfect final piece. It's free writing. A draft. Messy is OK.
Last year I took on the challenge but didn't sign up. I completed it and was pleased with the effort. This year I've signed up and hopefully will once again manage to write 50,000 words or more this month. It's day two and the word count is rising, slowly, but it's rising. Second day and I'm over the 3000 word mark.
Check out www.nanowrimo.org for more information.
Last year I took on the challenge but didn't sign up. I completed it and was pleased with the effort. This year I've signed up and hopefully will once again manage to write 50,000 words or more this month. It's day two and the word count is rising, slowly, but it's rising. Second day and I'm over the 3000 word mark.
Check out www.nanowrimo.org for more information.
'All Saints Day'
The day of dead has been celebrated for centuries all around the world. In Poland it's an important day of the year. Families around the country prepare days in advance travelling to cemeteries where their loved ones are buried, lighting candles, saying prayers, leaving flowers. It's a day when we remember the people who have passed. Where they've gone is not something anyone can say. Some believe they've gone to heaven, others claim that they continue to live amongst us, while others still think they have reincarnated and come back to live another life. Either way, it's important to remember that they were here among us once upon a time. The event has been celebrated since around the second century A.D. and has continued until today.
All Hallows Eve is a celebration that is by most believe to be Pagan, others, especially the Church believe it is Christian and began when the peasants in the middle ages begged for cakes in exchange for praying for lost souls, hence the term 'trick or treat'. Some people regard All Hallows Eve or Halloween as an American holiday but it's a nice way to celebrate a sad day. Dressing up as monsters, witches, fairies and fireman gives children and adults an opportunity to be light hearted, have a bit of fun and enjoy a special holiday together. I think that we could take example from the Mexicans who really know how to celebrate the 'Day of the Dead'.
For the Catholic Church, All Saint's Day is one of the most important holy days every year. People gather together in churches for Mass which follows into the cemetery. Families, friends and acquaintances visit cemeteries near and far. Once the sun sets and dusk is upon us the cemeteries look extraordinary all lit up.
The downside is that it's another day that commercialism and marketing has touched. This afternoon as we were going to one of the cemeteries, beside ever-burning fires (znicze) and flowers, I saw people selling tea and coffee, and fairy floss. What are they going to start selling next year? Balloons and hot dogs?
All Hallows Eve is a celebration that is by most believe to be Pagan, others, especially the Church believe it is Christian and began when the peasants in the middle ages begged for cakes in exchange for praying for lost souls, hence the term 'trick or treat'. Some people regard All Hallows Eve or Halloween as an American holiday but it's a nice way to celebrate a sad day. Dressing up as monsters, witches, fairies and fireman gives children and adults an opportunity to be light hearted, have a bit of fun and enjoy a special holiday together. I think that we could take example from the Mexicans who really know how to celebrate the 'Day of the Dead'.
For the Catholic Church, All Saint's Day is one of the most important holy days every year. People gather together in churches for Mass which follows into the cemetery. Families, friends and acquaintances visit cemeteries near and far. Once the sun sets and dusk is upon us the cemeteries look extraordinary all lit up.
The downside is that it's another day that commercialism and marketing has touched. This afternoon as we were going to one of the cemeteries, beside ever-burning fires (znicze) and flowers, I saw people selling tea and coffee, and fairy floss. What are they going to start selling next year? Balloons and hot dogs?
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