Keep Your Sunny Side Up

Today is our son's 45th birthday. Yesterday, I mentioned the day he was born in my post on February memories. Kirk has given his family many memories over the years, some not so hot, some hilarious but many very good ones. Far too many to mention them all. He's been a goal setter since he was a little boy and he's also an optimist.

He prefers to look on the positive side of things, whether it's a matter within his family, or in his job, or life in general. A couple of years ago, he called to give us the news no parent wants to hear. His number had come up when his company had to make a lot of job cuts. He'd survived many other times, but finally, his turn came up. Even then, he put the positive before the negative. How hard, I thought, for him to do that when he had a wife and two daughters to support. A few rocky months later, he found a new job which turned out to be a good one. I'm sure he had his difficult moments during that period, but he kept the sunny side up for all who loved him, and maybe it helped himself, as well.

It's what I urge writers to do, too. I know it's not easy to do when rejections pour in like water over Niagra Falls. Look at it this way--if you let the negatives feelings take over, you're going to sink deeper and deeper into the I can't pool. Climb out of the doldrums and give yourself a pep talk. Nobody can do it for you better than you. 

Make a list of the pros and cons of your writing life. The cons will pop up easily, but you might need to search a little harder to make your pro side of the list longer. You can find them. I know that because I've done it. My negatives popped up pretty fast when I made a similar list, and a lot of the pros did, too. But as I delved deeper into my wriitng life, I found a lot of hidden positives. So, don't look only on the surface. Dig deep. Make your list, then consult it on a regular basis to remind yourself of why you feel like you're beating your head against a brick wall trying to get published. 

Make a comment here and let others know about some of the positives in your writing life.