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.