Tammy Letherer In a recent blog, I asked if there was any topic you’d like me to write about. I thought it would be fun to have an “assignment.”
Dave sent me this: “I would like to hear about your biggest challenges for 2018, challenges you know that if you decided to embody and embrace, you would uplevel as a mom or writer, and allow you to give more of your gifts to the world.”
Hmmm. This is a tough request. I typically start my blogs by relating a story of something that has already happened and how it delivered some kind of inspiration or message. But Dave has asked me to speculate about the future, and that’s much harder for me to pin down.
When I’m coaching writers, I warn against wasting time by chasing down a story. Instead, I suggest becoming present to what is happening right in front of you and using that as a starting point. The present moment is where the strongest energy lives, so tapping into an experience or idea that already exists is a way to take the heavy lifting out of writing.
In other words: sometimes it’s easier to reach for a magnifying glass than a crystal ball.
Dave’s question requires imagination, intention, and vision—all necessary tools for writing. And the words he chose—decide to embody, uplevel—hint at the most important trait writers must have: commitment.
What am I committing to?
I don’t have to look far for my answer. I have an affirmation printed in bold letters hanging on my refrigerator that reminds me to have unshakeable faith in the perfect outcome of every situation in my life. That’s a challenge. But I know that, when I decide to embody and embrace unshakeable faith (because faith is always a choice), I’ll be able to give more of my gifts to the world.
So that’s my first answer: unshakeable faith.
Faith that I have gifts to share.
Faith that I am making progress on my goals even when I feel stuck.
Faith that people will read and appreciate what I write.
A close second to that (because Dave did say challenges–plural–didn’t he?) is the challenge of holding fast to my visions. This answer came to me not by looking into the future, but by revisiting the past. I’ve been cleaning out my files and I uncovered a vision board I made in 2012. When I saw this photo I’d cut from a magazine, I thought it looked familiar.
It looks a lot like the photo I took last spring when my daughter and I went to Paris. On our first morning, our host left this lovely spread on the table for us.
You might easily put that down to coincidence, but if you knew how that dream vacation came together so magically, you might, like me, decide to take visioning seriously.
So there are my two biggest challenges, or opportunities, for 2018: having unshakeable faith and believing in my vision.
What about you? What will you embody and embrace this year that will allow you to give more of your gifts to the world?
