Abandoning Your Excuses Reveals Your Path to Making the Impossible, Possible – Daily Quote

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nothing-is-impossible-there-are-ways-that-lead-to-everything-and-if-we-had-sufficient-will-we-should-always-have-sufficient-means.-it-is-often-merely-for-an-excuse-that-we-say-things-are

I had never heard of François de La Rochefoucauld when I found his quote. My guess is you haven’t either. His words feel timely and pertinent for today. Time for a Google search. Wikipedia reports he was born on September 15, 1613, in Paris. He was His Highness, the Prince of Marcillac. An educated nobleman, he served in the military and in the French court of Queen Anne and Louis XIII. Like Marcus Aurelius before him, François was an author of maxims and memoirs. 

They say many 19th century French critics referenced his work, and his ethics and style influenced the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Now, four hundred years later, he is still influencing us. The aspect of maxims that intrigues me is they are truisms of human nature, which chronically repeat. The observations of a Roman emperor, a French aristocrat, or a German philosopher, echo through time. If it is important, you will find a way to complete the task. When similar themes repeat across authors and transcend centuries of evolution, it behooves us to notice the pattern and determine our course of action. We need to find the purpose which ignites our will and reduces our excuses to a pile of ashes.

What do you consider impossible?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 21

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 234 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday? Half of the year is in our rear-view mirror, and I am drawing a line in the sand. The targets I missed, the stories I didn’t compose, they no longer matter. These last six months are history. Done. I won’t lie, 2020 kicked me in the head, leaving me stunned, unsteady, and incapable of completing anything beyond basic tasks. I bet I am not alone, but don’t count me out yet. They say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? I am confident I will discover I am more capable than I have ever been. I dug deep, reevaluated my annual goals, and I decided to double down. Can I get a year’s worth of work accomplished by Christmas? We will find out.

My turning point happened when I remembered reading somewhere that anxiety and excitement create similar emotional responses in the body. Anxiety raises your heart rate, your cortisol level increases, and your nerves prepare you for action. Most often, we respond by stress-eating a late-night pint of chocolate ice cream. The only difference between the two emotions is anxiety has a negative connotation, while we view excitement as positive. The answer seemed clear. I needed to reframe the context of my emotions and proceed as if my success lies on the horizon.

All that remains is for me to divide my workload into bite-size pieces, and do the next right thing. I am aligning my creative endeavors to focus on writing, editing, and creating a brighter future.

Try it, and let us know how you did in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Shifting Landscape of Facts, and Figures that Derail Your Dreams – Daily Quote 

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments
never-give-up-on-what-you-really-want-to-do.-the-person-with-big-dreams-is-more-powerful-than-the-one-with-all-the-facts.-h.-jackson-brown-jr.

When I was in school, the teachers taught facts, drilled them into our heads, and tested how well we remembered them. I believed the hype. I joined the debate team. Winning required developing a strong case for your position, defending it with irrefutable evidence, and showing the fallacy and ill-logical conclusions presented by the opposing team. Easy-peasy. Facts win. Until they change.

Pluto used to be a planet, once there were only four oceans, Mount Everest may not be the tallest mountain, and the Brontosaurus never existed. Facts represent the best knowledge we currently have. History is full of examples of things humans once considered being “facts” that we no longer believe. Leaches anyone?

Basing decisions on irrefutable facts is like walking on shifting sand. It becomes an exercise in futility that only delays action. It the face of changing facts, what are us mere mortals supposed to do? I am opting for grabbing hold of my dream and running with it.

What facts are stopping you from pursuing your dreams?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 20

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 233 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday? Half of the year is in our rear-view mirror, and I am drawing a line in the sand. The targets I missed, the stories I didn’t compose, they no longer matter. These last six months are history. Done. I won’t lie, 2020 kicked me in the head, leaving me stunned, unsteady, and incapable of completing anything beyond basic tasks. I bet I am not alone, but don’t count me out yet. They say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? I am confident I will discover I am more capable than I have ever been. I dug deep, reevaluated my annual goals, and I decided to double down. Can I get a year’s worth of work accomplished by Christmas? We will find out.

My turning point happened when I remembered reading somewhere that anxiety and excitement create similar emotional responses in the body. Anxiety raises your heart rate, your cortisol level increases, and your nerves prepare you for action. Most often, we respond by stress-eating a late-night pint of chocolate ice cream. The only difference between the two emotions is anxiety has a negative connotation, while we view excitement as positive. The answer seemed clear. I needed to reframe the context of my emotions and proceed as if my success lies on the horizon.

All that remains is for me to divide my workload into bite-size pieces, and do the next right thing. I am aligning my creative endeavors to focus on writing, editing, and creating a brighter future.

Try it, and let us know how you did in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Fighting Against Zoning Out with Old School Strategies – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 11 Comments
some-people-talk-in-their-sleep.-lecturers-talk-while-other-people-sleep.-albert-camus.

I am a total failure—when consuming podcasts or taking part in virtual conference calls. I have good intentions. But ten to fifteen minutes into the audio program, I discover I have zoned out. My mind has wandered. I don’t have a clue what the last individual said, and I pray the presenter won’t ask me a probing question. If it is a recording, I rewind only to experience the phenomenon happen again. I never noticed zoning out during in-person meetings.

It made me wonder if it was the host’s delivery, their cadence, or the sound of their voice? Perhaps it was the subject? I researched the art of active listening and studied the meditation trick of returning my focus to the call. After some experimentation, I discovered similar mental inattentiveness with podcasts, audiobooks, and online meetings. Music and movies also have this effect, though to a lesser extent. Maybe it is my learning style. Visual information engages my attention, and I remember the facts better than if I hear them.

As the listener, it is a miserable struggle that leaves me with intense feelings of wasted time. My solution is taking detailed notes. The process reminds me of college lecture halls without the final exam. My professors delivered talks with the express intent of delivering specific material within a structured setting. Many work calls do not fit those criteria. It is a change, a challenge, and I am working to adapt.

How do you best consume content?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 19

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 10 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 232 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday? Half of the year is in our rear-view mirror, and I am drawing a line in the sand. The targets I missed, the stories I didn’t compose, they no longer matter. These last six months are history. Done. I won’t lie, 2020 kicked me in the head, leaving me stunned, unsteady, and incapable of completing anything beyond basic tasks. I bet I am not alone, but don’t count me out yet. They say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? I am confident I will discover I am more capable than I have ever been. I dug deep, reevaluated my annual goals, and I decided to double down. Can I get a year’s worth of work accomplished by Christmas? We will find out.

My turning point happened when I remembered reading somewhere that anxiety and excitement create similar emotional responses in the body. Anxiety raises your heart rate, your cortisol level increases, and your nerves prepare you for action. Most often, we respond by stress-eating a late-night pint of chocolate ice cream. The only difference between the two emotions is anxiety has a negative connotation, while we view excitement as positive. The answer seemed clear. I needed to reframe the context of my emotions and proceed as if my success lies on the horizon.

All that remains is for me to divide my workload into bite-size pieces, and do the next right thing. I am aligning my creative endeavors to focus on writing, editing, and creating a brighter future.

Try it, and let us know how you did in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Making Deliberate Advances to Realize Your Vision of an Exceptional Life – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments
i-believe-that-we-can-in-a-deliberate-way-articulate-the-kind-of-people-we-want-to-become.-clayton-m.-christensen.

As writers, we carefully craft our character’s stories. We study them and construct their current situation, their identity, their wants, and desires. Based on their flaws, their needs, and we plot their story arc.  We help the protagonist overcome their struggles and move them to their story’s conclusion.

Every day we make decisions that frame and influence our future. We allow events to unfold, reacting to circumstances and forces seemingly beyond our command. If we have the power to control fictional characters, what is stopping us from deliberately constructing our own lives? I believe when we are honest with ourselves and look deeper than our superficial reactions, we discover our capacity to write our own narratives. The trick is to be self-aware. Consider your vision. We all want to a fairytale existence, but we must construct a detailed picture, structure a potential path toward our ideal, and be willing to pivot as we gain insight.

If 2020 has shown us anything, it is that no one owns a crystal ball. We can generate plans and set a course, but we don’t know what obstacles lie ahead. How we respond, and the corrections we adopt, defines our deliberate intentions to persevere and create a better life.

What steps are you taking to improve your life?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 18

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 4 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 231 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday? Half of the year is in our rear-view mirror, and I am drawing a line in the sand. The targets I missed, the stories I didn’t compose, they no longer matter. These last six months are history. Done. I won’t lie, 2020 kicked me in the head, leaving me stunned, unsteady, and incapable of completing anything beyond basic tasks. I bet I am not alone, but don’t count me out yet. They say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? I am confident I will discover I am more capable than I have ever been. I dug deep, reevaluated my annual goals, and I decided to double down. Can I get a year’s worth of work accomplished by Christmas? We will find out.

My turning point happened when I remembered reading somewhere that anxiety and excitement create similar emotional responses in the body. Anxiety raises your heart rate, your cortisol level increases, and your nerves prepare you for action. Most often, we respond by stress-eating a late-night pint of chocolate ice cream. The only difference between the two emotions is anxiety has a negative connotation, while we view excitement as positive. The answer seemed clear. I needed to reframe the context of my emotions and proceed as if my success lies on the horizon.

All that remains is for me to divide my workload into bite-size pieces, and do the next right thing. I am aligning my creative endeavors to focus on writing, editing, and creating a brighter future.

Try it, and let us know how you did in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Risk Challenging Your Everyday Thinking, to Expand Your Universe Forever – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 10 Comments
every-now-and-then-a-mans-mind-is-stretched-by-a-new-idea-or-sensation-and-never-shrinks-back-to-its-former-dimensions.-oliver-wendell-holmes-jr.

As a child, I stared at the moon, marveling at the various shapes which illuminated the night sky. The full round globe and the shiny sliver of a crescent, the shape-shifting planet held my attention. I could not fathom how the sphere projected it’s varying forms. Then something extraordinary happened. A teacher created a demonstration using a basketball, a tennis ball, and a flashlight. Mind blown, my relationship with that celestial body changed forever.

It led me to question everything in my life. Which of my perceptions were wrong? Which were keeping secrets? How had I been so blind? The crisis hit me hard, and I had to do something. I decided I would work on developing my observation skills, and I examined my world. I read books, essays, and journals, then I asked questions and questioned the answers.

Even now, I still question conclusions others declare as facts and read voraciously across countless subjects. I expose myself to alternate hypotheses and compare them to my assumptions. I stare at the moon, marveling at the vastness of our universe.

What has stretched your mind?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 17

/ JoHawkTheWriter

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 230 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday? Half of the year is in our rear-view mirror, and I am drawing a line in the sand. The targets I missed, the stories I didn’t compose, they no longer matter. These last six months are history. Done. I won’t lie, 2020 kicked me in the head, leaving me stunned, unsteady, and incapable of completing anything beyond basic tasks. I bet I am not alone, but don’t count me out yet. They say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? I am confident I will discover I am more capable than I have ever been. I dug deep, reevaluated my annual goals, and I decided to double down. Can I get a year’s worth of work accomplished by Christmas? We will find out.

My turning point happened when I remembered reading somewhere that anxiety and excitement create similar emotional responses in the body. Anxiety raises your heart rate, your cortisol level increases, and your nerves prepare you for action. Most often, we respond by stress-eating a late-night pint of chocolate ice cream. The only difference between the two emotions is anxiety has a negative connotation, while we view excitement as positive. The answer seemed clear. I needed to reframe the context of my emotions and proceed as if my success lies on the horizon.

All that remains is for me to divide my workload into bite-size pieces, and do the next right thing. I am aligning my creative endeavors to focus on writing, editing, and creating a brighter future.

Try it, and let us know how you did in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer