Developing a Better You

Tag: personal growth (Page 1 of 66)

Finding a “Still Water” Mind

It’s been a turbulent month. 

An exhausting week of author school visits capped by a bookstore event. A long-delayed layover flight that got my wife and I to our destination at 4:00 am. Caring for my dad as he recovers from knee replacement surgery. Helping Lisa’s elderly mom. Getting smacked hard by norovirus. An unexpected death in the family with corresponding funeral events.

Now that the storms have receded and a vague sense of normalcy has returned, I sit down to write this week’s personal development post only to find I have nothing to say. My gut feels empty, and my mind cluttered. That spark of an idea, sharpness of insight, or poignant life-lesson is missing.

Me while writing this post

As I write this, I’m sitting in my old bedroom at my Dad’s house staring out at the back woods, waiting for inspiration that isn’t coming.

Grasping at straws, I look through a seldom-used folder of blog ideas on my desktop and find a quote from a book I’m reading, Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, by the great Buddhist teacher. It seems especially fitting for my state of mind:

“Have you ever seen yourself in a mirror that distorts the image? Your face is long, your eyes are huge, and your legs are really short. Don’t be like that mirror. It is better to be like the still water on the mountain lake. We often do not reflect things clearly, and we suffer because of our wrong perceptions. When we see things or listen to other people, we often don’t see clearly or really listen. We see and hear our projections and our prejudices.

We need to make our water still if we want to receive reality as it is. If you feel agitated, don’t do or say anything. Just breathe in and out until you are calm enough. Then ask your friend to repeat what he has said. This will avoid a lot of damage. Stillness is the foundation of understanding and insight. Stillness is strength.” (p. 117, Still Water)

I’m trying to regain that stillness. My external circumstances have calmed, but my mind remains a tempest. I take a deep breath. Walk the dirt road at the end of Dad’s long, winding driveway. Let the silence sink into my bones.

Waves still disturb the surface of my mind, but the wind is lessening. Stillness is coming. For now, I’ll wait and trust.

Are you in a turbulent season? Acknowledge reality. Embrace your feelings. Step away from what you can. Endure what you must. Breathe deep. Take a walk. Soak in silence. Trust that stillness is coming. If you do, you’ll soon find a measure of peace, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

Text excerpt from Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh published by Shambhala 2011, p 117

Want a More Fulfilling Life? Embrace Your Mortality

It’s happening quickly.

Two years ago, there were eight people on my dad’s side of the family in his generation. With my uncle passing away unexpectedly last week, now there are four. 

My wife Lisa and I are currently in Michigan helping my 84-year-old father recover from knee replacement surgery and visiting her 84-year-old mother in her retirement home apartment. Seeing the inevitable declines that comes with advanced age is a sobering reminder of what awaits me.

That said, these reflections are not making me maudlin, gloomy or depressed. And I’m not about to try to “live every day as if it’s my last,” because frankly, that’s not practical.

What I am trying to do is embrace my mortality. Face it. Make peace with it. My worldview that we are all born of God’s love, live in God’s love, and will return to God’s love helps me do that. 

Another useful tool has been making a plan for my eventual demise. Being prepared financially. Having a Trust. A will. An advanced medical directive.

I’m letting the reality of my mortality influence my choices. Impact how I live. I’m choosing to pursue and live my dreams now vs. waiting. Writing the books I want to write. Seeing the world. Spending time with people I love.

What are your thoughts about death? Do you avoid the subject? Are you afraid of it? Those are understandable responses. But your life will end. Try embracing your mortality. Make a plan. Consider a higher power. Live your dreams now. If you can’t, take steps to bring them closer. If you do, you’ll have a more fulfilling life, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

Define Your Own Win

I was driven. 

Once I had the goal of being a traditionally published author in my sights, I attacked it. Studied the craft. Wrote my first book. Got signed by a literary agent. Fought through a myriad of rejections. Wrote my second book and endured even more denials. Wrote my third book, yet still struck out. 

Then my break through. The fourth book I wrote earned me a four-book deal with Penguin Random House, the biggest trade publisher in the US. But I quickly learned that wasn’t the finish line—if I wanted a successful career, it was just a new starting line.

So I dug in again. Made connections with literary gatekeepers like librarians, teachers, booksellers, and parents. Promoted myself and my debut series. Appeared on podcasts. Gave interviews. Taught classes. Worked social media. Booked my own school visits and bookstore appearances. Said yes to any promotional opportunity, all for free.

For awhile, it worked. My efforts led to a deal for a fifth book. Three national book tours. Book signing events attended by hundreds of people. Being on stage with literary icons at book festivals. Becoming a USA Today bestselling author. 

Then my publisher didn’t extend my Monsterious series. While that stung, I got to work on creating a new series pitch. They rejected it. I went back to the drawing board. They turned down the next idea too. I came off my most recent tour last October exhausted, dejected, and questioning my future as an author.

I finally gave myself a much needed break. I took several months off, writing little and doing virtually no promotion. The rest and reflection cleared my work-fogged mind and helped me find a healthier perspective—I did the things. I lived my literary dreams. Do I want them to continue? Of course.

But not at any price. 

I realized the mysterious agony in my abdomen months earlier that had stumped doctors and landed me in the hospital was probably stress induced. I remembered that I don’t have to do everything or say yes to every opportunity. In the publishing industry, there’s an external and internal pressure to give everything to your literary success. To keep pushing, keep striving. It feels like if you’re ever without your next book deal, you’re failing. Getting left behind. Becoming a has-been.

But that’s not reality. There is another path. A version of my life where I stop letting someone else define success. Where I choose what winning looks like for me. 

There are things I love beside writing that bring me deep fulfillment, like my nomadic life, traveling the world with my wife Lisa, and spending extended time with friends and family. Do I still enjoy writing? Definitely. Will I continue to pursue it as a career? Without a doubt. My agent is shopping my new children’s fantasy adventure manuscript to editors now, and I’m currently writing an adult thriller novel (and having a blast).

Will those books get deals? I have no idea. If they do, I’ll be ecstatic, but if they don’t, that’s okay too. I’m not going back to that stress-filled frenzy where I’m striving to meet other people’s expectations. There’s great power and comfort in deciding what winning looks like for me.

What dreams are you chasing? What goals are you pursuing? Whatever they are, make sure they’re your true passions. Don’t let other people define your success. Reclaim your power. Choose your own win. If you do, you’ll have a more peaceful journey toward your preferred life, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

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