At times, it feels like you’ve hit a creative and productive wall. What if it’s the point of 95% completion? Here’s how you deal with the remaining 5%.
Over time, I’ve come to realise, the most important work I do as a solopreneur is to show myself how I don’t give up on me
As a creative entrepreneur, I constantly meet resistance. From my own mind. When I write or work on photography, I will come to a point where it all comes to a halt, and I used to spend days in frustration, shame and negative self-talk. Not any more.
Now I recognise it as the point before a breakthrough.
So instead of resisting and letting my mind and my feelings lead the train, I’ll follow the recipe which has worked for me every time. I’ve accepted that however weird it may seem to others, it’s effective to me, and I’m the only one who matters. …
When you’ve had a long period of frustration -when it finally changes, how do you recognise it? And most importantly, will you do what’s necessary to move on?
Instead of holding you down, all that energy will now be spent building you up
People are averse to change. Whether we say we love change, or not. The difference is that some see change as the necessary evil in their life, so they can live the life they desire.
Dealing with what you’ve become
You could be the one who smiles all day and nobody knows how frustrated you are underneath. Maybe it’s for the lack of success in an area in life and you desire to
- become a mother/father
- be a leader in your field of work
- become professional at your hobby
The key here is that you desire to become something. Meaning, you’re not already there. Right now, you could have all sorts of ideas on how it feels to be the parent, the leader, or turning your hobby to a profession. That is how it might feel. But, thinking back on other changes you’ve made in your life, how many of them came out, how you pictured it would? …
Rewiring your brain can sometimes feel like being a dung beetle rolling a big ball of turd, whilst walking on your hands and keeping the momentum up with your feet. Then four of your friends come along to help you. Here’s how to find the one that actually helps.
“People who are more compassionate with themselves are better at coping with negative emotions and are less likely to ruminate on their negative thoughts.”
I came across a TedX Talk called Dare to rewire your brain for self-compassion by Weiyang Xie as I was googling kindness to yourself, a topic I am studying right now. She is a psychologist at the Notre Dame University Counseling Centre, which supports the students in all their mental health issues.
Watching the video got me thinking about my own experiences in rewiring my brain. Whilst I’d rather do the work, no matter how uncomfortable it is, I’ve noticed that most people would rather not do the work. They look at me as though they are saying why would you do something like that to yourself. …
Over the last few years, I have been googling one statement again and again. I found all sorts of classes for writing in English when it is your second language until I found what I was looking for, right here, on Medium. My search was: easier to write in English even though it is not your first language.
N.A. Turner wrote a story called “ Why I prefer to write in English even though it’s not my native language “ in 2018 and I have read it five times.
I’ve read other stories he’s written, and I was surprised to find he is not English. I know the Dutch have an extensive understanding of English but to read that he prefers it as the main language of writing excited me. I am not alone.
Finding my inner Brit
I knew I had found what I was looking for when I read these four reasons (he has several more worth a read).
- “Love for the pronunciation, tone, rhythm and possibilities.” I made a comment stating just this in other words. …
I wrote a story about how to organise an overly creative mind where I showed you how I use spreadsheets to organise my overly creative mind. What I didn’t tell you about the three-month writing marathon of writing every day, is by day 15, — I am exhausted as I sit down to write. Here’s how I keep moving forward!
Three questions to keep going
ONE. I still love writing. This has been established years ago and I look forward to being an old lady of 86 years, sitting at my desk with a view over the city (wherever that might be) still writing because I will still love sharing musings on life and wonderings about people and how they relate to each other.
So I connect with that feeling. I check in with myself, every time I get tired, by asking the question: does it excite me to write? Do I feel my heart race a bit by the very thought of writing? Yes? …
Are you missing the days when your kids would go to the latest animation film with you?
Yes, as they grew older and Pixar came along, grown-ups are looking forward as much as the kids to see the latest film but, after a while, the kids are too old. What do you do? You keep going to the films. And who knows, maybe there is a storyteller in you looking to come out and create an animation?
There is no upper age limit to watch animation films and here’s a bit of shocker, they are written by grown-ups! …
What’s your story today?
With “Richard Says Goodbye” I say hello, not from the bottom of my heart but on my way up from the bottom of life. I needed to learn how to not give a f*ck and I would’t listen until I was lying on the perverbial floor and saying “I give in”.
Opting out of confrontation
I speak on storytelling every day. That is, other peoples stories that in the end inspire you to either agree or disagree, being provoked to an action or a new train of thought.
The other day, someone that I see every day, wanted to have a talk to clear some things up, which I agreed to, seeing that we have been at odds for a long time now. His partner was supposed to come as well but he explained she hated confrontation. …
Growing up with a love for films and series about the future I was often disappointed about how it almost to a fault, portrayed a dystopian society with different levels of advanced technology that is a story of its own.
You can often hear interviewers ask authors of science fiction and other fiction, based in the future, if this is how they foresee the years to come. As though they are clairvoyants who have seen the inevitable and would hurry to their computer not to waste another second, bunkering up with necessities, hammering away on the keyboard in haste to warn the people of a town or the whole earth for that matter, of what’s to come.
Is writing about the future, an attempt to predict the future, or is it a medium to play with an idea?
Historical fiction
Jodi McIsaac wrote the book “Bury the Living” which is the first book in her Revolutionary series. We meet the time travelling Nora O’Reilly, a former IRA fighter from Belfast, who travels back to 1923 at the height of the brutal Irish Civil War in search of a stranger from her dreams. …
I watched Superman when I was a little girl, with Christopher Reeve and when I heard the music start up, I cringed.
You could hear it was an orchestra playing to the film. Decades later I realised the problem, Hans Zimmer took the reigns of the soundtrack with Henry Cavill as Superman and the manuscript written by David S. Goyer, -Superman has never been stronger.
New type of film music
If you look at the evolvement of soundtracks over the years, they have been somewhat close to classical music which entertains the listener whilst evoking a feeling of romance, suspense or sadness.
With the rising level in fiction production and not to mention the popularity of the genre, not only fiction geeks are awaiting the premiere dates with suspense, they are now a household genre. …
I watched the first episode in the first season, after the last episode of the 2nd series, realising I had bailed on the episode only after a few minutes. That’s how much of a chance I was willing to give the already popular show.
A mere 2 minutes and 50 seconds to judge the episode. Still, the television series kept waving it’s index finger to invite me in. “You’ll love me, I promise.”
Oh, you have no idea how much I would love you.
The unreliable first episode
I have read several books bought on my Saturday afternoon exploration of first pages. As soon as I find a somewhat intriguing cover or title, I have to open up the book to read the first, and sometimes the second page. …
