January 25, 2013

Are you dragging around excess baggage?

 

Is there “stuff” taking up space that you need to dump overboard so you can pick up some speed?

Chasing Dreams

I’ve been struggling with this issue lately, and it reminded me of a period in our country’s history.

Each spring from 1841-1861 Independence, Missouri, was crowded with thousands of emigrants preparing for the 2170-mile trek we now call the Oregon Trail.

Here merchants competed for the opportunity to furnish emigrants with supplies and equipment for their journey west.

A family of four would need over a thousand pounds of food to sustain them on the five-month trip to Oregon.

Loaded Down or Overloaded?

Most emigrants loaded their covered wagons to the brim with food, farm implements, and furniture.

The journey began, but within a few miles most emigrants realized they had overloaded their wagons. Unless their loads were lightened, they would never be able to make the arduous journey across the plains.

Their only choice–if they wanted to go the distance and attain their dream destination–was to start throwing things out.

What’s Hindering You?

Do you identify with these emigrants? Have you overloaded YOUR wagon?

Are there things (activities, hobbies, interests, bad habits) that you need to dump if you’re going to make a successful journey as a writer in 2013?

Remember, those pioneers weren’t throwing out things that didn’t matter. They were giving up precious possessions in order to fulfill their dreams.

What have you given up for your writing? Fulfilling our dreams usually requires sacrifice.

• What have you “tossed overboard” in order to devote some time to your writing?
• What was the easiest to let go of?
• What was hardest?
• What is still hindering you that needs to go?

Take a moment and share!

4 Comments »

1. 

   Gah! Sometimes lots of little writing projects vie for attention and I get nothing done … so best to pick one or two per day and get started, get them in decent shape before starting on the next. Yup, I’m in that phase right now after finishing my novel.

   I socialize in a family setting. No coffee/tea get togethers unless it’s someone very, very special. I also say no to meetings of all kinds. PTA, fundraising, etc. And no TV. I should limit my internet more as well. Working on it.

   Comment by Vijaya — January 25, 2013 @ 6:45 pm

2. 

   I love throwing things out! My parents, like so many who grew up during the Depression, never threw away anything, and cleaning out their house after 50+ years was a nightmare. I vowed from the beginning not to be like that. I’ve never thrown a thing out that I later found I missed.

   For me, this translates pretty easily to dropping things from my life that aren’t “the point.” The easiest thing to give up, because I was never really eager to take it on, is going to meetings, serving on this and that committee, and so forth. I have done a few select volunteer things over the years, and that’s it. Another thing I don’t do anymore is needlework. It’s just not important enough to make the list, you know? I gave up TV except for select sports events and movies eons ago.

   Really, nothing I’ve let go of has been that hard to part with.

   Comment by Marcia — January 27, 2013 @ 4:49 pm

3. 

   Vijaya and Marcia, we can all be busy with meetings every night of the week if we want to. I have select volunteer activities going on all the time, but I try to limit how many! They have to really matter to me and be of some real significance, at least in my own mind.

   I found Marcia’s comment to be so true…the stuff I thought would be so hard to give up never really was. I didn’t miss it! Most of it was just “habit.”

   Comment by Kristi Holl — January 28, 2013 @ 12:14 pm

4. 

   Hi Kristi, I love passing links to your blogs along on Twitter and Facebook, but I can’t find the share buttons on your website anymore. They used to be at the top on the left. Can you tell me where to find them again?

   Comment by Heather Wright — January 31, 2013 @ 8:18 am

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