Split Into Many Fragments

I have so many things I am trying to achieve right now, so many dreams I'm aiming towards. Sometimes I think that maybe I am taking on too much. As those of you who have been reading my posts will know, I am working toward my dream of being a published author. I am taking lots of steps towards that dream. One step is that I am writing and submitting a short story every month. I am working on finishing and editing my three NaNoWriMo novels. Another step is that I am reading eveything I can get my hands on about the craft of writing so I can work on honing my skills. I have also joined the 12 x 12 in 2012 picture book challenge, just finished the Picture Book Marathon and have started a challenge of my own with the Chapter Book Challenge. (I am finding published chapter book authors to guest post and share their wisdom with the others who have joined the challenge. The challenge is to write a children's chapter book during the month of March.) I am trying to keep up with writing in my blogs as well.

Now, it stands to reason that with so much going on, some things are going to get less attention. I am still doing my daily exercise. I am usually watching what I eat and trying to eat healthy, but I must admit that, on my tired days, I don't do as well or make the best choices. And my blog posts are happening less and less frequently.

I keep reminding myself that I lost over 145 pounds, and that, if I managed that, I can manage anything, but that's where I seem to be finding difficulty. I did manage that, but at the time I was being so successful at losing the weight, I wasn't concentrating on much more than my family and my weight loss.

At this moment in time, I am working on so many different projects while still trying to maintain my weight loss and spending time with my family, and sometimes it feels like I might have taken on too much. I feel like I am being pulled in too many directions and each thing that is calling to me is pulling a piece of me towards it until I am splitting apart in many separate fragments.

And this long-winded post is my way of saying that I am sorry that I am not posting as frequently right now as I used to. I will try and create thoughtful and helpful posts every weekend though because I have no intention of abandoning this blog. This is the first of my blogs that I really put any effort into, and it's kind of like one of my babies. Blogging here not only helped me to lose weight, it also helped re-spark my interest in writing again.

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Number One Tip For Making Your Dreams Come True

I once was very overweight. The medical term was "morbidly obese." The term "morbidly" implied that I was putting my life at risk by being as overweight as I was at the time. I had health problems and lived with pain every single day.

I dreamed that I would someday be slim and healthy again. But dreaming about it wasn't enough. Dreaming about it kept my dream off in the distance somewhere as something that would happen someday.

Now my weight puts me in a healthy BMI. I don't have any pain other than the occasional temporary muscle aches from a new form of exercise. And I am wearing clothes that my teenagers fit into. I have been described as "tiny" and "diddy." I have energy and I have my health back. I lost over half my body weight.

So how did I do it? What is the number one tip I can give you for making your dream, whatever that dream might be, come true?

I was persistent. Persistence is the one thing you need to achieve any goal you have set for yourself. How did I do it? I didn't give up. I kept at it. I didn't let anything stand in my way. I made my goal a priority in my life and I worked hard at it.

Some days it was easier than others. On other days, it was a struggle and a battle the entire day. But I never gave up. I was focused and persistent and I never lost sight of what I wanted and of what I needed to do to get it.

Now I am on a different journey. I have a new goal. I want my children's stories and my novels to be published. For my novels, that means I have to finish them, edit them, and edit them some more. That's why I am participating in National Novel Writing Month again this year. I'm writing 50,000 words or more in 30 days.

And that's why I might not post as often during the month of November. I won't be gone though, and I will try and still update from time to time, or I will share interesting news I find on Skinny Dreaming's Facebook page.

I am giving this goal the same persistence that I gave to losing weight and getting healthy. It's only day 8 of the challenge and I have already written 28,546 words. (This novel might be a bit longer than a mere 50,000 words by the time it is finished.)

If you have a goal, a dream you want to achieve, stop dreaming about it and start reaching for it!

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Dreams Unbound

Lyn over at Escape From Obesity recently wrote these words,
"It is in our power to conceive and generate the life we want." What an amazing quote! It is so true and it speaks to the heart of so many things, including but not limited to weight loss and fitness.

Recently, I've heard so many people complain about wanting to lose weight but not being able to find the motivation. I just want to say to them, "The only thing getting in your way is you!" but I hold my tongue lest I offend. Why does everyone think they have to wait for this elusive motivation?

When I started this weight loss journey, it was because I knew I was not living the life I wanted. I was unhealthy and unhappy with my weight, and I knew that it was in my power to change it. So I did. Seriously. We all have the power to live our dreams. All we have to do is start stepping towards them.

Lyn also wrote, "I am not chained to THIS life. You are not chained to yours."

Again, this is so true and such a simple concept that people seem to often forget. We have CHOICES, and it is our choices that lead us either in the direction we want or further away from what we want.

And this is true in every area of our lives. For instance, I keep making up excuses for not writing my stories. Sometimes, I blame my fear of failure. (What if my writing isn't good enough?) Sometimes, I blame my family. (It's never quiet enough to write,and the kids need my attention too much.) Sometimes I just blame my state of mind. (I'm too tired to write.) And sometimes I even blame my own personality.(I've always had a problem with procrastination. It's just who I am.)

But the truth is that I am not happy with this state of affairs. I have always wanted to be a writer, to work towards publication, to take the stories I have in my head and get them out there for the world to read. The only shackles keeping me from doing this are of my own making. The phrase I want to say to others who complain about lack of motivation also applies to me. The only person getting in my way is me!

So no more chains. The chains keeping me from living my dreams are completely of my own making, so it is up to me to remove the chains. And I'm going to, even if I have to do it one link at a time.

The one thing I have learned from losing over 100 pounds is that I am capable of achieving anything and everything.

I can make my dreams a reality, and I will. What about you?