Measuring Success

So you want to be a writer? I have a question for you. How do you measure your own success?

For many of us I'm sure that getting published is the ultimate goal, but is it the only form of success? Is someone else giving credit to your work, putting money where their mouth is to publish your work the only way to prove your success?

For people like me, the answer would be yes. I have no self belief in my writing ability, so when i get a compliment, i just don't believe it. I believe that people tell me what i want to hear. I'm paranoid that way, but that's just me.

The chance that any of us wannabe writers getting published is slim, so if like me it's the only way to prove your writing is worth something, then we are doomed to think ourselves as failures.

I remember when i used to write for fun, because i enjoyed creating characters and making them interact, when the thought of being published was a distant dream. Now i know that i want to be a published author, i have found the thought of writing quite crippling. Fear of failure scares the hell out of me.

I need to refocus. See individual achievements for what they are, stop focusing on the bigger picture, stop putting so much pressure on myself. Whether it's getting published or not, writing a novel is still a huge personal achievement. Completing a chapter is an achievement, it means you're one step closer to the finished product. And even if we only manage 500 words before crawling into bed, it's still an achievement because it's 500 words we would otherwise not have written.

I don't know about you, but I'm going to start focusing on the smaller things. I'm going to celebrate my smaller achievements, take pride in things i previously would have passed over. And if someone tells me they like what i write, I'm going to try really hard to believe them. Because, realistically, even if they are telling me what i want to hear, the only person to gain from it would be me.

Light at the end of the Tunnel

So much for my post about no more excuses. I am so terribly lazy when it comes to self motivation. Though in my defence, the last two months have been rather eventful. It has been the anniversary of a couple of very bad memories for me, along with loosing my job, and managing to get myself pregnant.

Its not been all bad though. Me and Ben have now been officially together for a year, and apart from the whole pregnancy thing throwing a spanner in the works, things between us have been running rather smoothly. We have started talking about moving in together, which for both of us will be a huge step.

My group therapy is also coming to an end this week, and that i can assure you has been a tough journey. I have always felt that i was such a complex person because i had so many conflicting emotions about various things, and things i felt that just made no sense. But now i fully understand a lot of my emotions, and I'm still deciding whether that's a good or a bad thing. Whilst the therapy will soon be over, i still have a way to go before my head is in a place where i feel is safe. But i feel that journey will be easier now, especially with all the support i have around me.

It's when you go through tough times you realise who your true friends are, and even which family members truly love you and will be there for you. And for the most part, i really couldn't have asked for more. I have so much love around me that i never really saw before, and when i take the time to actually look around, i can see it. And i can't believe how i missed it before. Maybe the black cloud above me is finally disappearing, allowing me to see the brightness of the world that i could never see before. Who knew the world was so full of colour, so full of energy and full of dreams.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. And if only my eyes hadn't been so closed, i would have seen it sooner.

An Undecided Tiny Acorn

Hurray the Writing Workshop has returned!

I looked at this weeks writing prompts and I honestly couldn’t decided which to do. So can I cheat and do a short contribution for all five? Yes? Goodie!

Hmm ok, what do I seem unable to learn or remember? Quite a few things! I am not best known for my memory skills! And now I’m trying to think really hard of an example of my poor memory and guess what…? Yep, I can’t remember any! =/

So moving on to number 2. What do I miss most? Well that one is easy – Ben. I miss Ben more than anything. I miss him so much I physically ache when I’m not with him. Corny that may sound, but it is so true. The distance between us is a curse. Long distance relationships suck – FACT!

Number 3 – What steps have you taken this year so far to make a dream reality? Well lots of things. As you may already know I am currently doing lots of things to try and make myself a happier person – the occupational therapy, the group therapy, getting my own place, tenancy support when I finally move in… ok, so maybe being a happy, more positive person isn’t necessarily a dream, but it is something I have longed for for such a long time. I just hope I’m not taking on too much at once – the last thing I need right now is to be overwhelmed by everything!

There is also Judiths Room! Since I was 12 it has been a dream of mine to write, so I am making a conscious effort to, well, make an effort! I hope I can find the support and feedback I need here to help me rebuild my confidence and improve my writing ability.

Making some really nice friends too would also be a bonus! =)

4 – What is outside your window? There are two ways at looking at this. One could describe the overgrown tree blocking the majority of my view, the well kept gardens of my neighbours, the randomly scattered toys of my dog in my own garden…

Or I could look further.

What is outside my window? I would say opportunity. Life. The future. Life is for living, to live you need to experience the world and everything out there, for who knows what you are missing, sitting in your warm house, leaning back on your comfy chair and staring out the window?

Last but not least, number 5 – Blog about your very own tiny acorn and the resulting mighty oak!

This is perhaps the most difficult for me to write, but I would say that my own tiny acorn was in fact me. The recent changes I am making are all an aid to help me grow into that mighty oak I know I can be, that happy, care free, confident, vivacious girl that I used to be. I guess I’m going full circle – I used to be that mighty oak, but the elements of life got in the way and I faded, lost my way, and a tiny acorn, I fell from the highest branches into the soft ground below, buried by dead leaves and greenery, hiding me from the light and denying me the chance to grow. But as all seeds do, I’m fighting back toward the light, tentatively reaching out with newborn arms, determined to find my way back toward the stars.

A New Beginning

As everyone seems to do at New Year, I have made a resolution that I hope I can keep. It is one I touched on before Christmas, about trying to be more positive, trying harder, being more confident, trying to be a better person etc.

It’s a New Year. It is time for a fresh start.

2009 was not a very good year for me. (Apart from the whole meeting Ben thing of course – because that has got to be the best thing that has ever happened to me and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.) But aside from meeting Ben, the rest of the year was pretty shitty for a whole bunch of various reasons. But I have taken steps to improve my life, and get the help that I have needed for a long while.

I have started seeing an Occupational Therapist, after a discussion with a mental health professional this seemed the best way forward for me. My anti depressant has been increased to the maximum dose, which although has stabilised my mood, I constantly feel sick which isn’t a nice side effect but ho hum. I have extra support at work from an outside company which has negotiated with my employer over my mental health to make sure that I am not taken advantage of or bullied or.. or anything else. I have the offer of my own tenancy with the council – my own space without all the stresses and arguments I’ve been having with my family. Though they are still taking their sweet time about it all as they still don’t have the keys and I’ve not even seen the place yet! Grrr! But when I do get to move in, I will have something called tenancy support which will be someone coming in once a week to help me with things like budgeting, learning to cook and general issues I may be having which will be a huge help to me.

But aside from all this support I have, the biggest thing is yet to come – and that starts this Friday. Because of my history, and the fact that I have never really dealt with it, I have signed up for a therapy group for survivors of sexual abuse. It is going to be a fortnightly session on a Friday morning and will last about an hour and a half or so. And I am starting to get really really anxious about the whole thing. I’m trying not to worry about it too much as I am trying to keep to my resolution to stop worrying so much and to think more positively – this therapy can only be a good thing for me surely?

It will help me no end to meet people who have been through what I have. To finally be able to communicate with people who understand all the thoughts inside my head without thinking I am a freak. To understand my guilt, my confusion, my fear… Admittedly, I know that this will be a hard journey for me to start, as dealing with my issues means facing them and reliving them – but I have my friends, I have Ben, and I know they will be there for me when I need them.

I am not afraid to face this anymore.

A New Perspective

It’s Christmas. Yes, I know, sharp aren’t I? But it is that time of year when you sit back and analyse your life, your year, and you realise that things aren’t actually that bad.

I have been through some crap in my time. And I mean crap. Some crap that even those closest to me don’t know about. I have never had a need to divulge certain things, nor will I ever. There is just no need, it would accomplish nothing. Perhaps that’s why people don’t understand why my depression runs so deep, and sometimes I just don’t want to get out of bed in the morning.

But I digress…

Its Christmas. I want to express how thankful I am for who I am. And for me to be me, I must be thankful for the life that I have had, the experiences I have had, for they have shaped me, my opinions, my emotions… Me. And on the whole, I believe I am a nice person. I have my faults of course, doesn’t everyone? But overall, I think I am a decent human being.

Don’t get me wrong, my life is far from perfect. I’m on anti-depressants, I’m in therapy, and I have seen a psychiatrist. But when I put things into perspective, what do I really have to worry about?

I am healthy. (More or less – nothing major to worry about anyways!).
I have a roof over my head.
I have a job.
I have a family.
I have friends.
I am loved.
I am IN love.
But most importantly…

I am alive.

A colleague at work had some bad news this week. His 26 year old cousin has died of a heart attack. She has left behind a husband and 3 young children, one of which is severely disabled.

26. I am 26.

Death can hit us at any time. And for this very reason, I have decided that I need to focus more on the good things in my life, rather than worry and stress about all the problems in my life. Think of all the things I am missing out on because of my anxiety? Why should I worry all the time about what people think of me, or what they will say if I do a certain thing? What does it matter to them? And why is it so important to me? It makes no sense.

I’m going to focus on the future. I’m going to live for the now. I’m going to live for me.