Recovering from a Life-Sucking Moment

Last night I had a dementor moment--you know, when you feel like your soul has been sucked out of you? Or on the Dr. Who episode that showed the 1952 coronation of Queen Elizabeth and an alien life form rigged all the television sets to suck the life out of all the viewers? Or in Once Upon a Time, season 2 where a wraith sucks the life out of marked victims? Well, that's how I felt. I won't go into any details, other than to say I found myself NOT CARING about any of my 101 goals, or anything else, for that matter. I wanted to tell the person who triggered this that "I used to have an orchestra pit in my life that played sound tracks in my mind and now I had only a pit." Stuff like that. I prayed last night for help in overcoming this, but I was fighting against it. This morning I felt help from my Heavenly Father and my Savior. "Just let it go," was the message. "Some things come as a package deal and this is part of the package," I heard. I remembered a line from a poem I love..."Some things that well may be thought cannot wisely be said." And some words I heard a long time ago on a tape..."Forget it and Drive on." I thought about all the people who have much heavier hurts to bear than the silly one I had and I thought about the Savior's atoning love and that it is sufficient for all. I also know that when we feel pain, no matter the source, cause, or degree, we are somehow fully committed to the pain. And I, for one, cannot make the journey back (or out) without drawing upon the powers of heaven, upon the atonement.

Needed! A Spreadsheet & a Clutter Containment Plan

I can keep track in my head my ticks towards accomplishments up to about ten, but if I'm planning 365 of anything I think a spreadsheet is in order. Better get cracking on this today. Also, I gave myself some wiggle room - stating I'd complete 10 projects but only named three. Now I find myself wanting to apply myself ONLY to my 101 activities and my desk and room are growing clutter like mold on bread. I'm thinking I'm going to state that one of my projects will be to sift through clutter every month by the 28th, say, and either toss, use, or file.

Dream BIG, Not Drab

Listen to all my audio cassettes. So far I've listened to 5 and tossed them all. The quotes I captured on my mirror from these tapes are... "Dream Big, Not Drab" Say to yourself in the morning: "Another day in which to excell!" "If you're not motivated nothing is going to happen." -- Zig Zigler And here's an affirmation... "I will learn to dream and set goals. I will follow __________ ____________ . I will be an example of what is true and right. I will be a __________________ . I will help people to become _________________. I am an example of what is true and what is right. I believe that we can change the world. When good people do something it doesn't matter what others think." My mirror is clear once more.

NaNoWriMo

Participate in three sessions of National Novel Writing Month (which is NOVEMBER). Last week I attended a kick-off event with two of my daughters where we learned that "NaNoWriMo" is a non-profit writing event, that your writing is scrambled when you post it and then deleted from the site as soon as it has your word count. You are automatically a "winner" if you reach 50,000 words this month. There are all sorts of encouragements available. The event hostess encouraged us to google "Make Good Art" by Neil Gaiman and read it or listen to it (can't recall which). I am happy to report that I am NOT cheating (meaning I'm not using the chapters I wrote last year). I've begun my story again and am having SO MUCH FUN with it. Me and my girls calculated that we need to log in 2500 words a day five days a week to stay on track. I have 6K words, so far. Whew! P.S. Here's the link to the "Make Good Art" speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikAb-NYkseI