A hurricane is no place for a health nut (she stated with a facetious smirk). This thought occurred to me late this summer while looking at shopping carts, noting which shelves and sections are empty, and watching the news reports, a hurricane diet seems to consist of large amounts of chips, cookies, pop tarts, booze and water (presumably to re-hydrate from all the boozing).
Are these just normal eating habits, or is a natural disaster an excuse to go carb crazy?
I’m personally more likely to take a nap in a stressful situation than to pop any tarts. But I understand I’m the exception, especially when I see the social media quips about gaining weight and risking alcohol poisoning while waiting for and riding out a hurricane.
Do hurricanes make you fat? Or do they act as an excuse to do so? How can you stick to your habits and keep working toward your goals during chaotic times, especially if one of those goals is writing a book?
Goals
On a good day, writing a book is a formidable goal. For someone who has never done it before, even more so. It’s easy to fall off track en route to a goal you’re not sure about. The less solid your attachment to it (your “why”), the easier it is to quit.
Enter the excuses. Some “life stuff” is completely justified. But some stuff, quite frankly, is a collection of thinly disguised reasons to give up – to quit on yourself.
Commitment
It all comes down to the strength of your commitment. Are you attached to your goal by a thread or by a cable? Do you use accidents and surprises as an excuse to fall off track? Or do you use them as fuel to double down on your commitment, to adopt a “no matter what!” attitude and fight for what you want?
Writing itself is an act of overcoming obstacles. Every author battles their own internal demons – ego, confidence, procrastination, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and other mindset issues that hamstring us. We face demons on the page and screen too – the actual writing and creative challenges of writing a book.
On top of that: Is there ever a good time to write a book?
If you have too much time, you’re more prone to procrastination, thinking you have all the time in the world. If you don’t have enough time, you’re prone to stress-induced word production (yes, sometimes the most effective kind!).
Fuel
If you’re in the midst of chaotic life circumstances that make the idea of writing seem almost asinine… well, that might actually be the best opportunity to see what you’re made of as an author. What better time to put your book writing commitment to the test? Because if you can buckle down and write then – you can write ANY time after that!
While fighting in the trenches of WWI and witnessing horrific carnage all around him, author J.R.R. Tolkien developed a severe case of trench fever for which he was hospitalized. From his hospital bed, he began creating the characters and world for what would become his Lord of the Rings series. He turned life challenges into opportunity.
How can you use the chaos and challenges you encounter in life, not as an excuse to quit on your goals, but as a reason to go after them with all you’ve got?