As I sat down to write a new post for this blog, I realized there was a recurring theme from previous posts. That theme is self-doubt and fear. Today, I’m re-visiting an old post, Smacked and sharing more thoughts for today.

Words from the past: Smacked!

A couple of weeks ago, I was smacked in the face. Not literally. Despite my recent stings and falls, this was figurative smack in the face.

Have you ever been droning along with life and something just wakes you up and causes you to rethink nearly everything? Or at least inspires you to move forward? That’s what happened with me.

I heard two words that were so simple yet have impacted me deeply. They are: Take Action.

Pretty basic words, but when you think about them, they can inspire your life. These two words are my new mantra. Take Action.

Regardless of your dreams, goals, calling, diet plans, whatever, the only way to achieve any of them is to Take Action. Otherwise, you’re dreaming and planning, but not DOING. If you don’t take action, you’re not doing anything to accomplish your goals.

I have several things I want to accomplish including writing and finishing my novel, writing devotional pieces, and managing my health better. I also want to grow deeper in my faith and have a stronger prayer life.

None of these can be accomplished unless I take action. Otherwise, I’m only complaining that I need to lose weight or bemoaning that I don’t have time to write or pray or whatever.

The solution is simple: Take Action.

Those two words resonate in my life all the way to my core.

What about you? Do you have something you in which you need to take action? Do you have a mantra that smacked you in the face and encouraged you? Please share.

In other words: Take Action.

Words from today: Creating New Habits

So, where am I on my goal to take action? Truthfully, I have fumbled a lot. But I still have determination. Today, in order to take action, I’ve had to create new habits. I’m working on a new habit right now to succeed in one of my goals, which is to complete a novel.

I have several ideas for novels, and I pick at them on occasion. But the only way I’m going to finish one is to have a schedule and keep it. I need a set time for writing that is sacred. I’ve heard this for years, but because I had a flexible schedule, I resisted this simple idea.

Now, I’m a full-time college student. My classes are on-line, so there is flexibility there (flexibility might be a bad word, come to think of it), but I still have deadlines twice a week, every week. I will complete this goal in Fall of 2023.

But I didn’t want to wait another year to continue work on my novel. What to do? Yep, I finally needing to create my set writing time and develop a new writing habit. Like my writers with a day job or family, I’m now getting up earlier and focusing only on writing early in the morning. It may only be for a couple hours a day, but guess what? It’s working. I’m taking action.

Creating a new habit isn’t easy. I like to stay up late. But right now, writing at the end of the day doesn’t work. My brain is mush from school. 😉 I’m tired and I usually want to wind down with crocheting – or meeting school deadlines.

So, this is my solution. Before my day and my mind are filled with school, exercise, fixing dinner and more, I get up early and write.

Creating new habits isn’t easy. Not having a set schedule previously had more to do with self-doubt than finding time to write. But one way to build confidence is to take action, face the “d” word discipline and set your schedule and stick to it.

If I miss a day, am I going to quit? Nope. I’ll have to get up and try again tomorrow. The point is to keep taking action and keep your focus. It’s a great way to battle self-doubt and achieve your goals.

Do you have tips for creating and keeping a new habit? Please share!

Let’s encourage each other.