Making the Most of Your Sleepless Nights – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments
its-useless-to-play-lullabies-for-those-who-cannot-sleep.-john-cage

I will not lie. I can sleep in some amazing situations. For eight weeks, my commute involved a seventeen-seat prop plane where amidst rumbling engines, choppy weather, and non-reclining seats the sandman often found me before takeoff. Family members have recounted window-rattling, house-shaking thunderstorms that woke everyone in the household except for yours truly. Commuter trains, picnic tables, the cab of a pickup truck, a 100-year-old barn, a tent pitched on rocky terrain, and a 24-foot boat anchored in the middle of a lake, top the unusual places where I slept like a baby.

Why then, do I find it so difficult to fall asleep in my bed? I’ve read the list of helpful tips. I dimmed the lights, turned the temperature to the meat locker setting, removed clocks from my view, drank chamomile tea, played soft music, and practiced relaxation techniques without success. Taking a bath, exercising, reading, or scribbling brief notes to clear my mind, only drives any hope of slumber from my night.

The only option left was to Invent a coping mechanism. My rule is if I haven’t nodded off within 20 minutes, I get up and do something. Normally that translates to writing, editing, preparing graphics, scheduling posts, or other administrative work. The only light in my neighborhood is the one in my window. Anxiety evaporates during my bonus time, and I work happily until sleep calls my name.

Do you experience sleepless nights?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 16

/ 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 229 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

I Believe, I Believe, I Believe – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 10 Comments
believe-in-love.-believe-in-magic.-hell-believe-in-santa-clause.-believe-in-others.-believe-in-yourself.-believe-in-your-dreams.-if-you-dont-who-will_-jon-bon-jovi.

I believe Santa Claus is real, true love exists, people are basically good, and that magic is everywhere around us. I believe Kevin Costner’s “I believe” speech from Bull Durham is a classic movie moment. I believe we are living at an amazing point in history, that dreams are to be nurtured, not dismissed, and I believe human beings have not yet realized their full potential.

There are huge benefits to having a strong belief system. It helps you remain positive, dispel negative thoughts, and allows you to build an unshakeable self-confidence. A strong sense of self lets criticism feel less personal, less critical, and you can consider the merits from an unbiased view. 

Being able to separate emotions from facts lets you take calculated risks while realizing failing is part of the process. The ability to access risk makes you open to change, inspires you to act, and makes you more productive. Taking action means you are more likely to win, succeed, and achieve your goals. By making your dreams come true you just might inspire others. Or maybe it is a matter of faith. Like Doris Walker says in the movie Miracle on 34th Street, “Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.”

What do you believe in?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 15

/ 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 228 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

How Cleaning House Can Help Breathe Life into Your Stories – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 10 Comments
the-best-time-to-plan-a-book-is-while-youre-doing-the-dishes.-agatha-christie.

Weekends are for catching up on laundry, cleaning floors, grocery shopping, running errands, cutting the grass, and washing the dishes. These projects keep me moving, my hands are busy, and oxygen floods through my bloodstream. Our brains depend on the stuff more than any other part of the body. Oxygenated blood fuels our neurons, and studies suggest that blasts of oxygen can help improve cognitive functions.

Then I discovered a 2014 study from Florida State University, which suggests hand washing dishes can encourage feelings of mindfulness and wellbeing. Who needs a spa day? There is soothing warm water, scented suds, and the pretty patterns on my cups and plates. After reading that the study participants reported a 27 percent decrease in nervousness and a 25 percent increase in mental stimulation after washing the dishes, I am considering adding candles, mood lighting, and soft music.

Simple tasks occupy the inner critic that stifles our shy creative side, leaving us free to contemplate grand plans and conjure amazing stories. My notebooks bear grass stains, water droplets, and spaghetti sauce splatters that attest to the dire need to record and capture those ideas before they disappear into the ether. And I love the by-product — a clean house.

Where do your best ideas originate?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 14

/ 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 227 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

Technological Knowledge Transfer the Old Fashion Way– Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments
reading-is-a-technology-for-perspective-taking.-when-someone-elses-thoughts-are-in-your-head-you-are-observing-the-world-from-that-persons-vantage-point.-steven-pinker.

I recently came across a reference to “close reading”. Timothy Shanahan defines close reading as “intensive analysis of a text to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it means.” Intrigued, I began a little research which led me down a rabbit hole of New Criticism, literary theory, American literary criticism, and reader-response theory.  It got me to thinking, which is what I believe is the point of reading, and by extension, writing solidifies thinking.

The concepts seemed natural as if someone had trained me in the processes while I was unaware. Reading more, I recalled my fifth-grade teacher instructing us on how to read for comprehension. In high school, an AP English teacher had us parse entire poems. We dissected each stanza into its components, identified them grammatically, and wrote papers to explain the inflections and syntactical relationships used by the poet. Once finished, we wrote more papers on the same poems describing how they made us feel. It embedded those works in my memory.

When I read, I hear the author’s voice echoing in my head. Their thoughts and feelings expand my universe and touch my heart, forever changing who I am.

Does your reading change your perspective?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 13

/ 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 226 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

My Plan to Fight the Dying of the Light – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 10 Comments
oh-the-summer-night-has-a-smile-of-light-and-she-sits-on-a-sapphire-throne.-bryan-procter

Today, a random question shocked me. My colleague asked about my Labor Day plans. What? I grabbed my calendar and confirmed the distressing truth. Labor Day, summer’s death knell, is a few weeks away. In 41 days, we mark the Autumn Equinox. Where did summer go? I have noticed the daily sunsets are earlier, and sunrises are a little late. A hint of fall creeps in at unexpected moments. It stalks my verdant garden.

This year’s legacy is craziness, unanticipated adjustments, and boatloads of uncertainty. Caught in the whirlwind of making it all work, time has evaporated. Like it or not, summer must soon give way to crisp breezes and falling leaves. Summer is not lost. September yet lies on the horizon, and the opportunity to reclaim the expansive vacation hours I remember from my childhood, rest in the tip of my pen.

I won’t let September steamroll me, leaving regret for missing the charms of another season. My best hot weather friend, my air conditioner, will find me absent. There are flowers to smell, a game of hide-and-seek to play with the baby bunnies in my yard, and joy to discover. I have scheduled a visit to the farmer’s market to select corn on the cob, celebrate vine-ripened tomatoes, and pick blueberries for a fabulous tart. There is still a chance to read a brilliant book on the patio while enjoying my favorite iced coffee. I expect grilled veggies to taste better, and the evening stars to shine brighter.

How will you extend your summer?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – August 12

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 1 Comment

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 225 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