Earlier this month I faced the daunting challenge of driving home from a whirlwind five-day writer’s conference. Although I was excited about the connections I made and the new information I learned, I was exhausted from getting less sleep than I normally do.
I cannot over emphasize how important it is for persons with disabilities to rest. The lack of sleep was having an impact on my brain.. My eyes wouldn’t focus. My left hand felt number. I couldn’t think clearly.
Times like these can be pretty scary for persons with disabilities, even when the person seems normal, they are facing numerous internal challenges nobody ever knows about except for them.
I knew that I needed to get off of the highway before something bad happened, so I pulled into the parking lot of a dealership outside of Asheville North Carolina. After that brief pause, I was able to get back on the highway and continue on home. Sometimes, we have to hit Pause when we began to face challenges.
Below are a few common benefits of taking breaks from Psychology Today.
- Movement breaks are essential for your physical and emotional health.
- Breaks can prevent “ decision fatigue.
- Breaks restore motivation, especially for long-term goals.
- Breaks increase productivity and creativity.
- Waking ”rest” helps consolidate memories and improve learning.
Medical science shows that taking breaks helps us better handle the challenges of everyday life; perhaps, more so for the challenge of the writing life.
Challenges
You don’t have to be disabled to face challenges in life, they are a part of life. The pandemic has taken challenges in life to a whole new level. Life is pretty stressful for all of us these days thanks to the challenges of our new normal.
Listed below, according to the International Psychology Clinic, are the ten most common problems we face in life:
- Health Crisis
- Workplace issues
- Emptiness
- Friendship issues
- Failure
- Financial crisis
- Career pressure
- Unfair treatment
- Inner peace
- Mental health issues
The writing life comes with its unique challenges: learning the craft, creating ideas, building a platform, finding agents or publishers, and marketing/promoting your publications.
Rest assured, no matter how good your book is, you will face challenges at some point in your writing journey. This is why the best writers are prepared for it.
Preparation
Preparation is a big part of being successful. Most of us want to skip the challenging phase and go straight to life on the mountain top, but we’d miss the most important parts of the journey of life.
We fail to build our life muscles when we shortcut the journey. We also fail to find a support group when we’re struggling. After my accident, I foolishly thought I was able to do everything I once could before I sustained my brain injury. I didn’t want to do the work to get back to where I used to be. And I only encountered more hardship because of my desire to succeed.
The first step in any recovery process, whether physical, mental or substance is to first admit you have a problem and need help. We don’t have to face these challenges alone and we definitely don’t need to avoid them.
After my accident, I had to see a neuropsychologist to help me deal with the psychological aspect of living with a traumatic brain injury. Once I was out of the hospital, I began going to support groups for alcoholics, these are the places where I got the support I needed to navigate the challenges I faced in life at the time.
Traumatic brain injury survivors must go through a series of rigorous tests that challenge them before they can start a rehabilitation routine. It’s imperative to learn what challenges they have to live with and how to handle them. Years later, I still have to take specific tests with my annual exam to determine where I’m at in my recovery.
The areas tested include:
- Cognitive
- Physical
- Visual
- Emotional
I learned from author Jerry B. Jenkins that no writer starts at the top in their writing journey. Before they can ever write a book, they need to start out with smaller tasks to get stronger in the craft.
“Don’t try to become a writer until you’ve: studied the craft, written things smaller than a book, joined a community of writers, start building your platform.”
Jerry B. Jenkins
These are the steps writers must take to get stronger and be prepared for the challenges ahead!
Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJonhson.com and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.
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1 Comment
During the recent heatwave, I have had to take extra breaks since I don’t respond well to excessive heat. I also know that sometimes it is good to take a mental break from the writing to give me the distance and perspective that I need to move forward.