Writers--A is for Attitude

 

Ever hear that old adage "Sometimes you are your own worst enemy>" I think there's a lot of truth in those words. Today's quote advises us to not place limits on what we think we can accomplish.

If you think you can get from Line A to B, then you'll most likely find a way to do so. But then you look at the next lap and tell yourself that it's going to be a lot harder to go from Line B to C. Big leap you think. Maybe I'm not ready. Maybe I'll meet a few too many obstacles along the way. Keep telling yourself things like that and you probably will not make it from B to C. 

Instead, consider that there might very well be obstacles going from B to C, but you can meet each one and get beyond it. And that's how you should handle those bumps in the road--one at a time. Looking at all of them is frustrating and frightening. Take one at a time, and you can move ahead quite nicely. 

It all comes down to attitude. If you tell yourself you're going to fail, it's highly likely that you will. Do an attitude adjustment and say you'll move from Line A to B and from B to C, and you probably will do so. 

Who do you think is going to have more success in a writing journey? Negative Nellie or Positive Pete? 

I heard a woman the other day talking about her late husband. He won many contests and prizes. When people asked how he could be so lucky, he told them that he always went into the drawing or lottery or whatever it was with the attitude of "I'm going to win this." And more times than not, he did. Maybe  we should submit our writing to an editor with the thought "I'm going to get an acceptance." Not "This will probably come right back with a big, fat NO." 

I firmly believe that having a positive attitude will help writers achieve success a good deal of the time. It's not a given that we can maintain that kind of attitude 100% of the time. We need to remind ourselves to do so now and then.