Recently, I had to pause several of my plans to help family. I got behind in my writing goals for the year. I kept doing basic social media posts, but that’s about it. My writing slowed and then stopped as I struggled to stay afloat. One morning, as I looked over my blank planning calendar, I felt a tremendous sense of discouragement.
What happened? How could I have messed up so spectacularly?
I filled in what I had done the weeks before. Doctor visits, babysitting, family obligations, and church. Had I failed? God called me to write, but He also calls me to care for my family. To reach out to people around me with love. While I filled in my planner, I prayed for God to show me where I could fit writing into my schedule again. I may not have moved forward with my goals for the year, I certainly hadn’t failed.
I’d held my place.
I hadn’t given up on my goals, only paused. A bookmark, if you will, in life. Holding my place until I can get back at it.
To set a goal is good, to meet the goal is great, to lose sight of the goal or miss it, is human.
If your goals seem like a distant memory or they are fading into the background, don’t give up on them. Remind yourself that you’re human and sometimes life calls us in a different direction for a bit. Just like a good book with a bookmark where you left off, your writing will wait for you while you hold your place.
Jill Chapman resides in Southern Indiana with her husband of forty-four years. They enjoy their country lifestyle and visiting with their children and grandchildren. Her life centers around her family and her yellow lab, Indy. She is an avid movie watcher, loves Mexican food, and enjoys watercolor painting. Jill says her life is like a good plate of nachos, a tiny kick of spice, and a whole lotta cheese.
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.
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.
