New Year? New You?
This week on the podcast we talk about:Mr. Taco, Attacking Seagulls, Doing the Raccoons, and Goals. Also, Shaun sings.
So it’s the New Year and as we all know it’s all about goals and looking back and creating our lives in a new way.
People are spending money on exercise equipment and diet food and all that, but you know what? The you that you are? It’s totally fine.
Writers especially feel pushed towards outside affirmations and validations.
We think, “If I traditionally publish a book, I’ve made it. I’m a writer.” Or we might think, “If my self-published book sells 100 copies, I’ve made it.” Or even, “If I get 10,000 Twitter followers, then I’ve made it.”
Here’s the thing though.
You are a person in a moment.
Every moment that you write? You are a writer.
You don’t have to aim for any goals other than the goal of self realization.
You are a writer by writing, not because you hit a list or make an editor you’ve never met buy your story or a critic that you’ll never know give you five stars.
Writing is communication and exploration. It is craft and art. It’s all these things bundled together and just like you – the writer – the human – it is shiny and real and just fine the way it is.
You are a writer by writing. You are a human because you do human things.
This year maybe we can give others and especially ourselves the empathy to not judge each other by our end goals, but by our journey and actions that we perform every day or every week, by how we create our stories and our families and our communities.
It’s okay to just write. It’s okay to just be.
Let the goals that you create be about process as much as they are about achievement.
And have a happy new year as you, not a new you, but the you that you are, right now, in this moment, a beautiful, shiny soul.
Writing Tip of the Pod
Three obstacles are important in your story especially if it’s a picture book about a seagull trying to nab a French fry.
Dog Tip For Life
Life is about community. Make your community good.
SHOUT OUT
The music we’ve clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License. Here’s a link to that and the artist’s website. Who is this artist and what is this song? It’s “Night Owl” by Broke For Free.
WHERE TO FIND US
The podcast link if you don’t see it above. Plus, it’s everywhere like Apple Music, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and more. Just google, “DOGS ARE SMARTER THAN PEOPLE” then like and subscribe.
Continue reading “Mr. Taco and New Year New You? Maybe. If you’re feeling it.”