What Inspires Me? Lighten the Load
Lately, I’ve been walking around lugging an extra 50 pounds…of baggage (OK, and of actually blubber, but that is not what this is about, yet.) This is about that extra baggage. The lists of must do-need to-overdue items on my task list. They are weighing me down. And so, yes, I do do them. But often at the expense of doing what I want to be doing. Guilt is a huge motivator.
Truth is, before last weekend when I attended the first in 3 years—hooray!—Alumni retreat, I hadn’t paid much attention, or frankly though it was something I could do anything to change. Instead, I just carried on lugging the baggage, growing more stooped, grumpy, unfulfilled…
Okay, so back to the actual blubber which is probably a result of dealing with tasks at the expense of personal needs—aka exercise—that hasn’t helped. But those extra blub pounds had finally become so disgusting that, inspired by friends and family members I finally decided to actually track my intake and pay attention and so I downloaded the Lose It App. Cue The Band’s Take a Load off Fanny. Confession, until I looked up the YouTube, I have been singing “Granny” as in Take a Load off Granny…which, now that I think about it is why I downloaded Lose It and what this post is about…
Which takes me to the VCFA Alumni Residency. The closing lecturer was new VCFA faculty member Anica Mrose Rissi who’s presentation, “Process Is a Story We Tell Ourselves” was partly about how how maybe—just maybe—the reason we do—or don’t do—what we want is because the story we tell ourselves is “I can’t! Too busy! I’m not important! What I want is not important! insert all our various “too busy for me” stories. Anica Mrose Rissi is former editor who managed to publish a slew of books while being a fantastic editor and is now, still, writing delightful books and teaching (Absolutely check out her books.) She suggests we change our stories. Rissi is inspiring! Her talk was inspiring. It inspired me to change my story from I-can-only-write-when-I-have-a-chunk-of-alone-time-and-my-chores-are-done to I WILL WRITE 15 MINUTES A DAY with the same commitment I give to brushing my teeth. And I have excellent dental hygiene. But saying it—even in ALL CAPS—is one thing. . .
This is the one I downloaded.
Doing it! Carving out 15 minutes for M.E. Making sure I do it! And celebrating it was another. Back to Lose It!
Lose it! *as I said, is a FREE (and if you want more paid) calorie tracking-exercise-weight loss app, like NOOM I suppose (although I’ve never used NOOM). The Lose It App is easy to use to track meals and exercise. It’s on my phone which is literally plastered to my yoga-pants clad leg aaaaaall the time. And best, I was using it. Heck! I was on a streak—not weight loss streak but a 10-day long Meal & Exercise Logging streak. So I got to thinking. Accountability! Celebrating! Record Keeping! Can I use the Lose It! App to record my 15-Minute Writing Goal.
And YES! YES! and YES! So I am not Tekke. I do not like “exploring” apps. I’m a tell me what and how to do it and I will do that and exactly that Tek user. But I did a little searching on the Lose it! App and discovered one can add Customized Workouts to the list of exercises listed. So that’s what I did.
I added “Writing” to the list of exercise options. And, because the App requires one to post the calories used beside exercises, I figured dang, when I’m writing, my brain is clicking—as are my fingers—so that has to use calories. At least as many calories as resting Yoga, hence I gave it 10. That’s it!
Amazing how a tiny change to My Story and rewarding myself by tracking my success has made such a difference! I’m still hauling around all that luggage, but the promise and reward of 15 minutes writing has me singing a new song. And not going overboard, I’m considering adding a few more goals worth tracking to my handy dandy customized LOSE IT app. After all, “Leisure Reading” and “Photo Sorting” are workouts, too, right? Care to join me?
Lose It is helping me Do exactly what I want! Now that’s inspiring!
*No Lose It App didn’t pay me to write this or provide the download link. But they should…hint hint
Nuthin’ Doin’
“What are you doing today?” Curtis asked as I drove him to work.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” He asked again last night.
“What do you have going on this week?” He asked as I dropped him off at the airport.
“Nothing.” I replied. “Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I have absolutely not one single thing planned.”
He gave me a surprised look. Curtis never has nothing to do, nothing planned.
Most people don’t. Or rather, DO…all the time.
Even when we aren’t “doing” anything, we are doing something: Listening to music, Texting, Checking email, Facebook, Instagram, Playing Candy/Trivia Crush, Scrabble with Friends, etc. etc. Usually something electronic.
ACG School in Jakarta
When I visit schools, I’ll chat with the kids about my writering life. Inevitably someone will ask:
“Where do your ideas come from?”
I often respond by opening it up to the class and asking them:
“Where can we get ideas?”
Eventually the flood of suggestions peters out . . . Because ideas do that.
Life, the everyday business of living, can be tiring. Trying to live creatively can be even more so. The myriad of How-to, Discovery, Recovery books and articles focused on ways to revive our creative spirits, suggest this tiredness, miasma, block, burnout, lack of creativity . . . . is because we are creatively exhausted. (And perhaps otherwise, too.)
Stock Photo: Stressed man with smoking head More
Whether from lack of use, or because we’ve used up all we had, our creative tanks have run dry and need refilling.
. . . and not a drop to think.
Many, including Julia Cameron’s oft sited 12-Step Recovery guide, The Artist’s Way, recommend taking oneself on weekly Artist’s Dates as a way of “refilling our creative wells.”
Filling our wells—if we follow this sage advice—is easy. The question then is: How do we empty it?
How do we tap into those creative wells so those wonderful ideas can flow?
When working with school kids, at that point where the ideaphoria slows, I’ll ask:
“Does your teacher ever give an assignment and not one single idea pops into your head? Does that ever happen to you?”
A sea of nodding heads is always the answer I get.
At that point I’ll give them my sure fire Well-Draining Idea-Generator:
Empty your head and do nothing.
Try it.
I dare you.
I double dog dare you.
Make a “Do Nothing” Date . . . and Don’t!
Don’t take your phone. Don’t plug in. Don’t bring a friend. Don’t set an agenda.
Before long, the spigot will open Whoosh! and ideas will begin to flow. Could be they already were flowing, but we just couldn't hear to catch them.* Either way, that plenty o’ nuttin’ starts to sound like something.
To borrow from Dr. Suess: Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!
Nuthin’ Doin’ Playlist:
- I’ve Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ from Porgy and Bess
- Nothing from Nothing by Billy Preston
- Is It Love? Or Is It Magic, the Theme Song from Nanny and the Professor
*What's the worst that can happen? You'll have spent an idyll hour or two. (Ever ponder the connection between idyll, idle and ideal?)
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Guest Post on Janni Lee Simner's "Writing for the Long Haul" Series
When Janni Lee Simner graciously asked me to talk about "Writing for the Long Haul" I'll bet she never expected me to confess how "I Quit!"
Read all about it here: ReTired and Better For It!
And more about Janni and her dark fantasy BONE OF FAERIES Trilogy and more!
