Who do you want to be?

I usually have five or six columns that I’m working on and ready to publish. I find that’s the best way to keep the creative juices flowing and to keep to a regular publishing schedule. Once in awhile, I struggle to find something that flows and that’s just the way it goes. 

I haven’t had much time in recent weeks to be all that creative, thanks to work and home, but I have been spending a lot of time focusing on the type of writer and person I want to be. 

These couple of quotes have hit home for me:

• “The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better.” –Barbra Pletcher
• “If you just communicate, you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.” –Jim Rohn
• “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” –Norman Vincent Peale

I have a sarcastic, gallows humor side of my personality that can challenge the best of them and I suspect I’ll never lose that perspective, but I’ve benefited too from wonderful friends, teachers and mentors who’ve taught me the value of seeing the good in people. My goal is to be that kind of writer: to help others feel and be in touch with whatever emotion I’m writing about that day and glad that they came across my work.

In short, I want to make life better for others and myself. Now that may mean some challenging nights fighting writer’s block and figuring out exactly what I want to say — but it’s a goal worth fighting for, right?