Saturday, January 5, 2013

Writing Resolutions

I can't believe I haven't posted in over a year!  The whole layout of Blogger has changed; funny how technology has a way of moving at the speed of light!

So of course my last post was in January 2012, because January is all about new beginnings and initiatives.  Each January I contemplate my goals for the upcoming year and writing more is always on the list.  I had this incredible third grade teacher who told me I was going to be a writer.  It was all she could say about me and she told anyone who'd listen - my parents, other teachers and students, the Principal - "Pamela is going to be a writer!  I can't wait to buy her book."

It was a romantic idea and something I may one day accomplish.  But it never felt like a career option to me, perhaps because of where I came from.  My Dad owned a shirt fabric business in the garment district and my Mom was an engineer - these were very practical and lucrative professions.  Being a writer or artist of any kind was a pastime, a hobby, not a future.  And so I took more practical routes.

But literacy - reading and writing - they are like a therapy to me.  Anyone who knows me knows that I have opinions on everything, strong opinions.  I also have an intense sense of ambition; a vision for what I want my life to look like and for what I want everything I'm connected to to be.  So here I go again, attempting to rekindle something that makes me feel so good - writing.

I recently saw a TED Talk that said stating the end result of a goal gives the brain the same stimulation as actually accomplishing the goal.  Consequently, stating the end result (ex: I will be 50 lbs lighter in a year.) decreases your chances of actually getting there because your brain already feels like its accomplished.  So I will not state a concrete goal, but resolve to do better.  I hope that if I do, you will join me on this journey and comment along the way!

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