By Annette Young
Cast your mind back over the year and to any resolutions or goals that you may have set earlier (yes, even if that now seems like eons ago). How did you do? Did you achieve all that you wanted to achieve? The chances are there are things that you still desire in life and maybe there are some niggling doubts or feelings of disappointment that you didn’t push yourself a little more. If so, don’t worry, here’s how to get what you want:
1. Release the fear.
It’s true, sometimes fear holds us back so what if you could just have absolutely anything in life? What would you chose? If there was no risk of failure, would you go all out for it? As a writer, I was initially terrified of sending my work out to be assessed the first few times. No-one wants to hear bad things or to face rejection, but the joy of success well and truly overcomes the fear of failure. If I hadn’t started sending out my manuscripts, I wouldn’t be a full-time writer today.
2. Embrace your passion.
If you really want to achieve something, you will invest your time and energy in it. If you really enjoy writing and want to take it to the next step, you have to let your passion consume you. Surprisingly, it’s not all about the word count although writing regularly is important. The thinking process is crucial to your writing efforts and success. Think it, live it and do it.
3. Believe
If you have doubts about how good you are, stop. Your doubts will just chip away at the confidence levels that you have. Instead of thinking negatively or worrying, why not just congratulate yourself on the fact that you have goals, you write and you have the desire to improve. These are the magic ingredients for success. Sometimes all it takes is a little self-belief and a lot of re-writes. You are not alone, even the most successful writers struggle at times.
4. Visualise the outcome.
The more that you can visualise your creative goals, the easier it will be to manifest them. When I go to bed at night, I think about what I want to achieve and how good it will be to succeed. I picture myself writing the last word, posting a manuscript or receiving a nice letter and cheque confirming publication. You get the idea. I am very target specific. I visualise myself achieving and I believe in my abilities to do so. I find using affirmations a powerful resource at this point. Tell yourself that you WILL achieve your goals and ALL will go well.
I have learned over the years that life doesn’t hand you anything on a silver platter. You have to know how to get what you want in life and to follow the trail determinedly, the harder the goal, the greater the reward. If you really, really want to get published, learn the relevant skills, write as much as you can, fire up those creative juices and keep the imagination burning bright. The desire to achieve comes from you, the hard work comes from you and the self-belief too. Sometimes it will feel like an uphill battle and fear will raise its ugly head, but, don’t give up on your goals, instead, harden your resolve.
Annette Young
