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Accomplishing More and Sweating Less

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Mistakes We Make: #12 of 13

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REINVENTING YOU

WARNING: This is a no-edit zone...

Regardless of career field, at some point and time, most people are confronted with the need to reinvent themselves. The reasons that prompt the reinvention are as varied as we are.

WHY REINVENT?

It may be a personal choice. The career path you’d been on, just doesn’t fit you anymore. Personal tragedies, events that have a profound impact on you, maturity and/or personal growth can ignite the desire to reinvent. We change. What we want to do with our lives change. If the change is significant, and important enough to us, we reinvent, knowing we’ll be starting over and working our way up the proverbial ladder--again.

Writers often reinvent themselves--some, many times during the course of a career. Lines/imprints come and go, demand rises and falls, risky books fail, some elect to ghost write for others and avoid all the ancillary work a writer’s called on to do. There are a thousand reasons--and all of them start with something changing. The writer, the market, sales performance, passion for what one is doing...

It may be as a result of changing times. New technology and applications has had a profound impact on people needing to reinvent to stay employed, for what they’re doing professionally to stay relevant. I’m not talking so much about trends but about advances that redefine industries and the work done in them.

I’m recalling the time when personal computers first began to appear in small businesses and a then employee told her boss that she had kept books fine without a computer for years and would continue to do so. He encouraged her to take the training the company was offering, but she refused. Not too long afterward, she ended up between the rock and hard place. Her work--the means by which she did it--had become obsolete, and since she refused to embrace the new way of doing things, she had become obsolete. She ended up unemployed because she refused to reinvent herself.

Most degrees are obsolete within five years of getting them. Most people realize that they can’t rely on what they know now to carry them through a long-term future. They must continue to grow and expand their skills. Some, like the woman above, elected not to do so. Her choice, and the outcome of it is also her responsibility. The moral of that story is, of course, to keep learning and growing--and, probably most importantly, to keep an open mind.

COMMON REINVENTION MISTAKES

Chasing Trends. One of the most common mistakes made in reinvention is that the person chases a perceived trend. The challenge of course is that by the time the trend is identified, it’s often saturated or out of vogue. Unfortunately, this happened with many writers a few years ago when suspense became so popular. Suddenly people who had no interest in suspense (and were gifted in other forms of writing) switched to writing suspense because of its popularity. A similar event occurred in “chick-lit” after Bridget Jones: a decision that has since had many of those same authors reinventing themselves and their careers yet again.

Ignoring strengths. All too often, a writer will read a book, or several books, that are outside the normal sphere, enjoy them and decide to write one. S/he does, enjoys it, and then writes another. But along about book three, the writer isn’t enjoying the new type of book anymore and interest has waned in writing them.

Maybe the new type of book doesn’t play to the writer’s strengths. Maybe it doesn’t challenge her, or the practical subjects for the novels bore her to tears. No one in this position does their best work, and because the writer ignored her strengths in making this “leap” to a new kind of book, now she has to suck it up and produce anyway (a great way to kill creativity and produce substandard work), or reinvent again. Which is one way of saying, Writer, know thyself before you leap.

That leads to the biggest, worst reinvention mistake we make:

Uniformed decisions. Far too often the writer will choose a different genre or type of work because things aren’t great in the work s/he’s doing. Because someone else is encouraging her to change what s/he’s doing. Because s/he’s done what s/he’s doing for a long time and s/he creatively yearns for an enthusiasm infusion that comes with tackling something new and different. But rather than approach the possibility of reinvention analytically, taking into account the writer (human being and artist) and the market potential, the writer just jumps.

Too often, the writer reinvents with too little thought given to the human being in the writer. It’s all about career potential, sales. Those things are important, yes, but so is the human being in the writer. If there is no contentment, excitement--no passion--for what you will be doing, then the specific reinvention choice isn’t the right one. Keep looking.

Any reinvention worth doing is worth the analysis required to do it well. Only by doing the work can you have any assurance that you are making the right choice for the right reason. Remember, you aren’t reinventing your career to become someone else. (That’s true even if your covers cite another name!) You’re reinventing yourself to reveal a new aspect of you.

You are at the center of your work. And you should be at the core of your reinvention. Regardless of why you are reinventing, whatever you morph to should be an outgrowth of who you’ve become, are becoming, or want to become.

That is the single most thing that writers tend to miss in transforming. And the single most thing that others miss in revamping their career strategies.

Change often stems from necessity. Sometimes it stems from desire. In analyzing your specific case, understanding why you’re reinventing, planning a solid strategy for doing it that incorporates you (your strengths, goals, dreams and desires), increases your odds of a successful reinvention.

A tip from the trench: Follow your bliss.

I did a post on this not too very long ago, so I won’t bore you with repeating it, but if your passion is engaged, little can hold you back or down or dissuade you.

Don’t consider any reinvention that doesn’t ignite a fire in you that burns so hot you think you’ll melt from the inside out. That will sustain you through the transformation, through the onslaught of those asking if you’ve lost your mind for getting off a successful track to get on an unknown one, through the challenges of starting over and working your way up the ranks again--or again after having done it before (maybe several times).

Embrace the passion and follow your bliss.

When you reinvent yourself embracing the passion and following your bliss, you’re nearly there on fulfillment and contentment. Imagine... Being nearly there coming out of the gate.

None of us had that much going for us in our first professional invention, did we?

Blessings,

Vicki

Tags: reinventing, career, strategy, goals, dreams, desire, bliss, passion, authors, writing, writers, novelists, books, contentment, fulfillment, career analysis, trends, relevance

CAREER PATH: KNOWERS, FALLERS & DABBLERS

Some people, it seems, come out of the womb knowing what they want to be and how they’re going to become it.

Others have no clue what they want but fall into something that for one reason or another enchants them, and they make a life’s work of it.

Still others dabble in this then that and then something else and either dabble their entire lives or eventually light on something that intrigues them enough to stick around.

It doesn’t matter which you are. Any--the knowers, the fallers, or the dabblers--can make good writers.

I address this because a very upset writer emailed me recently on this topic. She was told she wouldn’t be a good writer because all of her experience was in one thing.

That comment just begs to be challenged, doesn’t it?

First of all, no one over a year old is experienced in only one thing. Ask a 2-year old to turn off the TV. Most know which button to push. One of my angels is 18 months and loves Dora movies. She knows how to load them into the player and which button to push to make them run. The four year old taught me that rewinding the VCR isn’t necessary. It’ll do it on its own. She also taught me how to play her Leapster--an educational game at which I was a novice, but she’s a pro. (Beat me on every game, too.)

Kids interact with other kids.
They learn language skills: “Don’t, no, stop, please and thank you.” They learn tones--and react to them appropriately. They learn expressions. I’ll never forget the day my eldest angel learned to frown. And, boy, do they read body language.

I used very, very young children to illustrate my point because learning many things begins very, very early. We get the basic skills then (all of which translate to writing, by the way) and then as we grow and mature, we add to them. We build on what’s there--the foundation.

So, in my humble opinion, no one has experience in only one thing--unless you dump everything under the “life” umbrella.

Secondly, even one whose primary area of expertise is in one field is not left void in all other fields. On the way from novice to expert, we develop other skills through related incidentals and experiences that fall outside our specific area of expertise. Most fields incorporates skill sets from other fields.

For years, John Grisham wrote legal thrillers. He is an attorney; that’s his one field. But good attorneys are usually good orators. They have a good grasp on body language, on human emotion, on values and judgments. On reasoning and clear communication. Quick on the uptake and flexible in mind. Those are essential skills to being a good attorney.

But John is also a writer: a related skill set. But does that mean he can only write legal thrillers? No, of course not. Because many of his skills transcend those perimeters and life has added many more. Hobbies and other interests, other experiences have added even more to that more.

So while some might have thought he had one area of expertise, and that imposed limits. We know from experience that his abilities and skills, many of which are directly related to that area of expertise, have exceeded it.

Skills acquired can be adapted and altered to fit the needs of other areas of expertise. That’s my point. You learn to balance to ride a bike. But you also use balance for a thousand other things. Your skill isn’t restricted to that for which you learned it. It translates. And that’s worth remembering.

As writers, we can draw on anything and everything, and we do. Regardless of what your personal experience is now, within the confines of logic, you can use it all and gain what you need along the way to write what you want to write.

The beauty of our flexibility in this is that we don’t have to gain this experience or skill firsthand to be able to write convincingly about it. For example: how many mystery authors have murdered? Not many, if any at all. Yet they convincingly portray the act in books regularly. How? Observation of others acquired skills and expertise. Not firsthand experience. See my point?

Knower, Faller or Dabbler: any can make good writers.

Another recent question has to do with career-building. An author specifically asked about Career Tracks and wisdom. Which way of going about building a career is best?

CAREER TRACKS

1.STRAIGHT AND NARROW: Develop a course that is straight and narrow, meaning write one kind of book and focus intently on building a reputation and a reader base for it.
2.SCENIC ROUTE: Write different kinds of books through a career.
3.DIVERGENT PATHS: Write two types of books and divide effort and interest between them.

Each of those choices has advantages and disadvantages.

The straight and narrow is probably the most preferred path because it naturally places the author in a position to build an easily identifiable reader base that knows what to expect from the author and his/her books. Focus is the key word in this type career. Name recognition, reader identification and expectation, and bookseller identification and expectation are all pluses. The negative? The author can get really weary of writing the same type of book over and again. Most who do find creative ways to keep the work fresh and to stay enthused. Those who don’t, run into long-term trouble.

The scenic route. As an agent once said, “When I get a book from you, I never know what to expect, but I know I’m going to love it.” That sounds like a big bonus, doesn’t it? And it can be. The market cycles and if you’re a flexible writer, then you can flex with it. That’s a perk on the longevity table. However, it’s not easy to build a career that rises to the stratosphere on the scenic route. Readers don’t know what to expect. Booksellers don’t know what to expect. Your books can be shelved in different areas in bookstores and that all makes finding the books more difficult--and it much more likely the author will get lost in the shuffle. Still, some authors choose this path and some have successful careers. Promotion is, in my humble opinion, essential to cue everyone other than the author (and that includes those in the publishing house) what is at the core of each book. Remember, we are creatures of association. We associate this author with this type book. That’s natural to us. So if you’re writing multiple types of books, you need to find an effective way to let others know it and know what you’ve written--every time.

Divergent paths. More and more authors are choosing the divergent path career strategy. They’ll write two types of books, essentially building two separate careers, which at some point usually merge on the marketing front. For example. Nora Roberts build a career in series romance. Then she expanded her romance books into the single title market. Still romance, but now reaching a broader base of readers. She continued her series romances and added her single title romances. Staying well established in series, she became well established in single title romance, and then took the divergent path. Under J.D. Robb, she began a separate career for futuristic mysteries.
After a number of J.D. Robb books were out and she was established in that career path, she marketed that Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb were one and the same. Crossover sales ensued. And her divergent path career strategy was an enormous success. So much so that she’s commonly considered her own brand.

For some authors, one path takes off and the other stills. A year or two later, they can reverse. The still one becomes hot and the hot one cools. Again, markets cycle. So this can be a perk for the author, too. Provided the author writes fast enough to get a book a year out in both careers, this can be a good choice with a lot of advantages and not so many challenges as the other two paths.

Of course, it really depends on the author and what s/he means to achieve. Purpose and personal goals are paramount and whatever yours are, they lend themselves best to one of the chosen paths. So before choosing your career path, it’s imperative (and you increase the odds of not disappointing yourself) by addressing specifically what you want from your career.

Take into consideration your production rates and promotion investments and skills, too. Look at the big picture of you, the author, and you, the person. These are not small things when it comes to deciding where you want to be a year from now or five or twenty-five years from now. Consider it all.

Make a three column list. Ask every question you can think of to ask--about you, about writing, about goals and dreams and desires and abilities. Compare each question to each path. See where the weight adds up.

Then you’ll be building not only a career, but one that has a better chance of working successfully for you.

And remember, you can change paths at any time. If you’re on one and it just isn’t working for you, do the above exercise. Find another. When a door closes, a window opens, right?

Right. And miraculously it does so repeatedly!

Blessings,

Vicki

Tags: career paths, skills, success, authors, writers, novelists, books, readers, goals, abilities, skills, accomplishments, choices, writing, vicki hinze, writer's library

NEW YEAR'S EVE TO-DO LIST

Today the door closes on 2007. For some it’s been a good year. For others, the best they can say is in short order it will be over. But for the majority of us 2007, like most other years, was a mixture of both. And how we view it largely depends on how we view its events or what events dominated our thoughts and time (more so than the actual events themselves).

Recognizing that offers us an opportunity to look back with a little distance (thus, objectivity) and with the gems of wisdom we’ve gained from all we’ve added to our personal treasure chests this entire year, and that reflection brings us to our biggest opportunity:

#1 We are in a position to review, discern what we want to change and what we want to keep in our lives.

Change, we all know, takes us outside our known comfort zone. It is often accompanied by conflict or challenges. It’s a pain. But so too is considering yourself on a treadmill you don’t like and not doing the work necessary to get off the thing.

Change is one part recognition, one part analysis, one part action.

You can’t get off the treadmill if you don’t realize you’re on it--and unfulfilled or discontent with it as it is.

You can’t make wise corrections to better your situation so that you are fulfilled and content without exploring the challenge (what has you unhappy/unfulfilled/discontent) and focusing on potential solutions.

You can recognize all the challenges in the world and deliberate on them for a lifetime, but if you don’t actually implement a potential solution, you’re not changing a thing to better your situation. And that means next New Year’s Eve you’ll be sitting right where you are, complaining about the same things you complained about this year (and perhaps the year before, and the one before that). You must act.

In short, if it’s broken, fix it.

You might have to explore a few solutions before hitting on the “perfect” one for you. Some will try one thing, not like the result, and consider that failure. That’s okay--provided they try something else--a different potential solution.

Many give up--and remain discontent. Those who don’t, keep exploring and find the right potential solution for them. In a very real sense, they fail their way to success.

Now we’ve been taught that failure is a bad thing. But think about it. If you gain something--and knowing what you don’t want/what doesn’t work is every bit as important as what does work and you do want--then that’s growth, and it is success. Not where you want to be, but closer. You know now these things that won’t/don’t work.

If you’ve been told repeatedly that failure is bad, then consider the previous statement your personal license to fail. Go ahead and just fail your way to success.

Before the door closes on 2007, review it. Nurture the good and cull the bad.

Be aware that culling isn’t always painless or welcome (others often don’t like for us to change) but in this, each of us must do what we feel is right. And we must remember that doing the right thing is easy when it costs you nothing. When it exacts a dear price, however, is when we gain the most personal growth. And regardless of others’ reactions, it is we who will be responsible for what we do and do not do, we who will be accountable, and we who will bear the fruits and/or the burdens.

This, by the way, isn’t a cut and run license. This is an evaluate and cull that which is no longer constructive and/or a positive influence in helping you shape your life so that you fulfill your purpose. Doing less leaves you only with regret and no one deserves only regret. Neither does anyone skate away from the consequences of their actions--that’s immutable, universal law, and well worth remembering.

#2 Tie up loose ends.

New beginnings require we put endings to bed. It’s hard to focus on new ventures when we’re dealing with remnants of the old. Some overlap is inevitable, but the less of the old we have to contend with in the time where our focus should be on the new, the better our odds of not only improving our position and making headway on the new, the better our odds are of building momentum.

Momentum is a powerful force. We put down a foundation. Upon it, we build. If one section is framed, we’re limited to going further on that one section. If two or three sections are framed, then expansion is possible on all. Momentum builds momentum. So the less time we spend in the past (deal with the old and get it done) the more time we have to invest in the future (welcome the new).

So do what you can to clear the decks--and that includes accepting what you can’t change. Don’t repress it, accept it. And then press on.

#3 Answer this question: WHAT DO YOU WANT?

No one can have everything they want, but they can have what they want most. What do you want most?

Answer it. Not in general terms, but in very specific ones. Then answer this question: WHY DO YOU WANT IT AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO GET IT?

In defining why you want something, you often clarify and intensify your determination. You also often develop seeds for your plan of action.

The key here is to remember another immutable law that deals with free will. You are free to seek what you will. But you are not free to impose your will on any other. These questions should be about you. Not about anyone else. How you can improve yourself, your life, your future.

If you’re constantly replaying old unworthiness tapes, or you spend a lot of time focusing on what’s wrong in your life or with everyone else, you’re on the wrong track. Respect others and yourself and recognize that you’re not accomplishing a thing that will benefit you.

If you need more on this, go into the library (www.vickihinze.com) and read or re-read WINDSHIELDS AND REARVIEW MIRRORS.

Bottom line: Look within. Your answers and benefits lie there.

#4 Set a goal. Make a plan.

I won’t go into specifics here, but if you haven’t read WHY WE NEED A PLAN, I strongly suggest that you do. It’s in my writer’s library under that title (www.vickihinze.com).

Far too many slide day-to-day, going through the motions of living without investing in anything about which they’re excited or passionate. The problem with doing this is that at best it’s a poor substitution for a life. Don’t get so caught up in busy-ness that you don’t even remember your wishes, hopes or dreams. And if you have forgotten them, pull them out of cold storage, dust them off and see if they’re still your wishes, hopes and dreams or if it’s time for an update--or even an overhaul.

Upshot: Don’t drift, design.

#5 Resolve to try at least one new thing.

If you do, you might find a new passion. If you don’t, you won’t. You might be missing something that could mean a great deal to you--and the saddest thing about that, is you might never know it.

I’m reminded here of a story I heard some time ago about a guy caught in a flood. On three different occasions help came: a neighbor, a camel and a guy in a boat. On each of these occasions the man stranded in the rising flood waters refused help, saying he was waiting on God to come help him. Well, the stranded guy drowned, hooked up with his Maker, and boy he was ticked. He demanded to know why God hadn’t come. God replied that he’d sent three different people to help. What exactly did the guy want?

The moral of the story: Sometimes we’re so fixed on what we think opportunity looks like that we fail to recognize it when it comes. Of course, that won’t happen to you if you’re open to new things...

#6 Adopt an attitude of gratitude.

Of all I’ve written in this post, this is by far the most important. It’s easy to fall into a hotbed of negativity or into a bad situation that sucks us dry, sows more seeds of discontent, or steals so much of our energy and focus that we grow inextricably mired in it and we lose sight of what’s good and going right in our lives.

When that happens, we react emotionally and that’s just not a good idea because our emotions aren’t reliable. We need balance to function with stability.

We all have challenges. No one escapes them. But if we focus only on the challenges (versus solutions to them and other things) then we’re doomed to a very rocky, very unstable road and that is definitely not in our best interests--or in anyone else’s.

To gain more balance--which leads to more stable, less dramatic (and melodramatic) events that inflict trauma on ourselves (and often on unsuspecting others)--we need only counter what’s wrong with what’s right. Counter the challenges with the blessings. See the good and be grateful for it.

Sometimes that’s easier than others. I’m reminded of something Joel Osteen once said about gratitude. There are times when the best you can do is to be grateful you’re not like x. (He pointed mid-air and said like him/her--I don’t recall which. But the intent in what he said fits situations and events as well as people.) Be grateful for little things as well as the big ones.

We often learn most from the things we tag as “bad.” We all have something to celebrate.

#7 Where you focus, you follow.

Before you act, you think. And if you allow your thoughts to run wild and unchecked, you diminish the chances of them being in your best interest. Anyone, given enough time, can rationalize and reason themselves right out of good sense--and rob themselves of accomplishments and even their destinies.

If you spend your time focused on the right things, good and constructive things, you’ll be purpose-driven and accomplish. If you spend your time focused on the wrong things, on negative or destructive things, you’ll follow that path and purpose and accomplishment will elude you.

You choose which you’ll do. You choose upon what you focus and give your energy--how you spend your life. That’s as it should be since you’re responsible for it and you will live with the joy or regret of your choices.

These things, in my humble opinion, are worthy of New Year’s Eve’s opportunities. Ones that recognize, analyze and act to position a person for powerful, meaningful personal growth. And for that, and so much more, I am grateful.

Blessings,

Vicki

Vicki Hinze
www.vickihinze.com

BELIEVE

BELIEVE
©2007, Vicki Hinze

Warning: this is a no-edit zone...

It’s easy to believe when things are going well. It’s easy to believe when you’re enjoying the support of family, friends, colleagues, associates, peers. It’s easy to believe when you’ve nothing at risk and nothing to lose.


But those aren’t the times when you best know yourself. Those aren’t the times when you stand alone with your dreams and you just can’t see a way to make them manifest. Those aren’t the times when you question your abilities, your competency, your motives and your methods.


No, when things are going well, you ride the wave and you don’t stop long enough to think or consider or weigh the consequences of your actions or the veracity of your path. You enjoy the ride. You press on, believing that if change were in order, something would be amiss.


And this holds true, even when things aren’t perfect. We’re human; we expect imperfection. But so long as the good is a decent stretch from the bad, we’re okay with it. We do what we do, and we don’t examine any one thing too closely. Why? We’re comfortable, and we do like our comfort.


We attach beliefs and emotions like security and stability to comfort. A sense of well being. It even pricks at our esteem in a good way--we’ve got a pinch of the golden touch and we say things like, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We are lulled into complacency and apathy on self-examination, and we detach from the very things that gave us the determination and drive to do what we do. We digress. We lose focus. We no longer seek our quest with the zeal necessary to achieve it. We allow ourselves to become distracted.


Then suddenly things aren’t so great anymore. We lack satisfaction, then we’re restless. We’re annoyed by that, and then we adopt new mindsets that are more in line with emotions than with logic. We feel lost. Betrayed. Angry. Helpless and hopeless.


Some say, they’ve grown weary of the struggle. Some say they’ve worked too hard for too long to be in the position they’re in, and they abandon their desires for the promise of security in something else. Something that doesn’t hold their desire or passion, but meets mundane and other very real needs. Some fold under pressure from other influences and in doing so discover a new dream or quest.


None are right or wrong, and that’s my point.


Life and careers are made up of seasons. People come into our lives for purposes and then when that purpose has been addressed, they fade and go on to appear in the lives of others. Writers write a type of book until something happens to change the dreams and desires of the writer, then s/he writes another type of book. Or pursues another career--often one related to something about which the writer has written that ignited something in him or her.


Careers aren’t linear, just as personal growth and life isn’t linear. We constantly grow and change. We wear many hats, play many roles. Often we live many lives in one lifetime.


At times we’re teachers, at times students. But at just as many times, we’re both. During these seasons, we’re gathering what we need to take on our next personal season. We’re giving others what they need to prepare for theirs. We’re putting in foundations and we’re harvesting that which we’ve gathered.


It’s a magical thing, the way these seasons work. How in one facet of our lives we can be planting, in another facet, watering that which we’ve already planted, and in yet another facet of our lives, we’re harvesting from seeds we planted and watered long, long ago. (Think of the “overnight success” that was twenty or thirty years in the coming.)


Yet in the seasons where things that have our focus aren’t going well, or we don’t have the support we feel we need and there’s nothing left to risk or lose, we tend to single-mindedly focus on the past. We think of better times and we resent that we’re not in them. Other areas of our lives might be stellar, but we ignore that because it is what has been lost that claims our attention. And because we’re human, we give it.


Yet here’s the thing. When we do this, we give our effort and energy to what’s wrong. We discount the value and worth of what’s right. We neglect the good to embrace the bad. This is not a good thing. Without focus will what is right continue to be right? Unlikely. Good needs its time, too. Recognition and appreciation is a terrible thing to waste.


Some spend so much time looking back and wallowing in the past, they do nothing, notice nothing, prepare nothing for the future. They’re so preoccupied with the past (good and bad) that they don’t notice the opportunities in their present path, much less dream the dreams that could be their futures.


We need bad times as much as good ones. We need to keep looking at who we are and what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. I’m not talking about self-absorption. The world is a big place and everyone and everything in it matters. But we’re mortal, and we can’t do or be all things to all people.


We can do our part. But to do it, we have to see what “it” is, to recognize it, to embrace it.


Now if we’re lost in the past, longing for better times, or if we’re riding the wave of comfort and lost in apathy and lulled into complacency, we’re not apt to see much and we’re even less apt to dream. This is not a good thing for our present and it’s worse for our future. It breaks us down. If comfortable, the breakdown is more pleasant to endure, but either way, we’re still broken, and we’re still suffering those pangs of disenchantment and those twinges (or gnawing pains) that come with a lack of fulfillment.


So what is the key? When times are good or bad, what keeps us balanced and attuned and aware so that we don’t lose sight (and our present and future along with it!)?


We believe.


Believing is and isn’t an act of faith. It’s a choice, too. It’s reconciling the head and heart and accepting that reconciliation as truth. It’s seeing the value and necessity in bad times. It’s appreciating their worth as much as the worth of the good ones.


We hear people say, nothing good lasts forever.

Why don’t we hear people say, nothing bad does, either? Historically, even the stock market’s only stayed down seven years. And even IRS only looks back seven. Why do we beat to death our entire past to the detriment of our present and future?


We hear people say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Does this mean the little fall less or drift and not crash because they’re little? The big may make more noise or get more attention when they fall, but I doubt they suffer the fallout from the fall a bit more than the tiniest. No matter where you are on the ladder, when you hit the ground, you’re on the ground.


We hear people say, you have to have money to make money.

Are we seriously advocating that? Discounting all the proof to the contrary? Should we alert Oprah that she can’t have money because she didn’t have it to make it? Bill Gates? There are millions of others. Enough said.


Here’s the thing. We can find a familiar quote to fit either side of any situation. Whether looking on the bright or dark side, someone somewhere has said something about it. If you’re of a mind to align with the dark, it’s there. If you’re of a mind to align with the light, it’s there. You choose your alignments, just as you choose how to view whatever season you’re in on whatever aspect of your life or career has your focus.


You choose. And you do--based on what you believe. About you. About your situation.


You can choose to wallow in the depths of despair, giving all you’ve got to what’s wrong. Or you can choose to fly the heights of joy, giving all you’ve got to what’s right. You can also choose to keep one foot on the ground and the other planted firmly in the sky.


You can believe that there is good and bad and that creates balance. You can believe that seasons come and go for reasons, and part of their purpose is to give you opportunities to not become lax or apathetic, or indifferent. Opportunities to keep assessing and defining your goals and aspirations and dreams.


Staying personally balanced through these seasons comes in knowing there is good in them. It’s said that necessity breeds invention. We need, therefore we create. There’s wisdom in that. We grow and change because we must. (Stagnant anything dies, right?) And change, being outside our comfort zone, seldom comes easily or without costs. But the cost doesn’t have to be everything. Whether that growth is painful, sorrowful, tolerable, or bearable largely depends on our attitude toward it.


If we remember that we gain through times of challenge, doesn’t that help balance things out? We might struggle and sweat, but we’re stronger, wiser, acquire a new skill, master one we had as a result of the effort?


How many races would an Olympian win without training? Without losing challenges along the way?


None. Because s/he would never have invested enough to become an Olympian.


Seasons. Good and bad times and all of value. Acknowledging the worth in both. The opportunities in both for personal growth and development.


Things will get shaken up. All things get shaken up. Fear and doubt love shake-ups because they know it’s at these times we’re most vulnerable. What can better keep us from achieving what we set out to achieve than fear and doubt? Not a thing. We relinquish ourselves to either and it owns us. We refute them, and we own us.


We let go of what was in favor of what is, and we look for the way this challenge offers us a hand up to scale our next personal mountain so we can claim it.


We know this isn’t a universal body-slam designed to take us down. We know that to get higher up, we need a challenge to snag us out of apathy and into action.


We understand that spinning wheels is an absence of traction. To get anywhere we want to go, we need traction, and in this season, we’re being offered a way to obtain it. It looks like a bad break, maybe even feels like a bad break, but we know better. We’re attuned, engaged, committed. We’ve got our goals and dreams and aspirations firmly in sight and we know this is a step up to them. We know.


We believe.


Blessings,


Vicki

©2007, Vicki Hinze



Tags: believe, support, career, path, seasons, change, transitions, dreams, focus, attention, balance, fulfillment, aspirations, goals