Tag: encouragement

Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Maya Angelou

Welcome back to another episode of Writer’s Quote Wednesday on The PBS Blog as Hosted by Colleen of Silver Threading. This week, I take inspiration from Maya Angelou:

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I still remember when I told my English teacher I wanted to be a writer in High School. Instantly her eyes blushed the same color of worry my mother’s does when she knows I want to do something that is near impossible. As nice as she could put it, she explained that I may want to get an additional job, you know, just in case. Little did she know however that I’d wanted to write books since elementary school, and nothing she said was going to change that. She’d explained how difficult it is for writers and I even had a glimpse of them portrayed in movies. Always the same story: a struggling writer who can’t make ends meet because no one buys his books.

Any author understands how extreme the challenges can be. It seems that if you wish to take on writing and publishing, then you must also wish to take on defeat and failure. But when I read this quote, I am reminded that many of the struggles we endure are necessary to erect a kind of strength, a gift, or a power that we didn’t know existed inside of us at all. If I had not gone through what I have in my life, I would never be as effective in overcoming similar stumbling blocks headed my way. But these struggles do more than strengthen the individual, they strengthen others. None of the education in the world can compare to experience. When you’ve been between a rock and a hard place you can encourage and inspire others with your testimony, same as Angelou has just inspired us here. So, like her, I’d advise this Writer’s Quote Wednesday:

When you encounter many struggles in your writing endeavors, understand that it may be necessary for you to encounter them so that you can find your voice and become stronger at what you do. No hardship seems pleasant at the time, but know that in the end it is for your benefit.

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#Ronovan Writes Weekly #BeWoW Blogshare – Be Good To Yourself

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Be good to yourself.

It’s easier said than done, but extremely important to remember. Humility does not ask that we think less of ourselves, just that we think of ourselves less. Many of us spend our days constantly looking out for others and it is a great work. We encourage, inspire, share, and overall put others above ourselves. But we have to remember to give this same kind of love to our own selves too. People who are good to themselves are strong enough to be good to others. On the other hand, there’s a saying that says to beware when a naked person offers you a shirt. What kindness can I offer you if I don’t first have the same kindness for myself? We have to learn to humbly accept compliments, rest when we need to, and treat ourselves every now and again. It’s not asking too much to implement some kind of exercise routine for your physical body, reading for your mind and prayer and reflection for your spirit. Our worlds can be so chaotic at times that we may even need to pull away for a while to tend to ourselves. This is not just a suggestion, but we need this. If you can’t function you can’t perform. We need to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to be of service to others. So take some time today and be wonderful to yourself this Wednesday.

#Ronovan Writes Weekly #BeWoW Prompt- Get It Together

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No, that’s not Ron’s suggested prompt but it was inspired by it. Ronovan’s prompt is “Are You Ok?”

It’s an interesting thing how a week can comprise a singular theme. Sometimes there are lessons we have to learn and messages silently embedded into our day to day that we do no always see. The central theme of my week for instance had to do with not letting things burden me.  So when I saw Ron’s prompt: “Are You OK?” it was on accord with my thoughts already. So my dose of positivity for today is Ron’s idea with a mixture of something I tell myself often, more so this week, and that is: “Get It Together!”

For those of you who know me by now, you know that I believe strongly in the power of choice and how our choices impact our lives. I counsel sisters from time to time and I noticed there’s a lot of depression taking place. I even found such depression to try and overtake me but I had to stop and ask myself a serious question: “Do you want to feel this way right now? Of all the things that need to be done and that are being done, really EC? Now?” From there I made the conscious decision to be OK with leaving things undone that attempt to rob me of the peace I so need in this moment. This was important to me because I knew that I will not otherwise accomplish the things I needed to. I saw this feeling then as a stumbling block to my daily priorities. Sometimes the problem is that we often try to go back and see how we can redo things that we really need to let go completely. We all have our moments (I know I do), but when our emotions get tangled sometimes we do not need to dwell on why, we just need to “Get it together” because the choice is yours no matter what it is. If you want to, you can shake the baggage and fly or you can give it permission to wear you down.

For the most part the advice to those who suffer from depression or any other negative spirit is “trying to figure out what’s wrong”, but not today. Today my message is the opposite, just drop it and get yourself together. Easier said than done I know, but it’s not impossible to do. Sometimes it’s not about thinking things through, it’s about letting them go completely and being OK with moving on.