Life is too short...

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don’t.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy. They just promised it would be worth it.

You've probably seen these quotes before. Each sentence is so true, and they become my mantra when I'm trying to reset my life.  Every now and again I need a reminder that there is a whole other world going on outside of my writer's bubble.

When my head is firmly wedged up my butt as a result of too much time spent on the internet, working social media, frantically following and emulating those more successful than me in the attempt of achieving unrealistic goals set in over enthusiastic moments, my world becomes insular. I lose track of things that are important. I'm never good enough for myself. Things and people who aren't important, become pivotal. 

I continue, blinkered, until something happens. Something small like one of my daughters saying something poignant, or a big squishy hug from one of my boys. Then the old cliched sayings start to filter into my self imposed prison. I remind myself of all the things I really hold dear, that all the other stuff really doesn't matter. In the overall scheme of things, it's all garbage, and the only person keeping me imprisoned in the superficial world I've created, is me. Then the walls come crumbling down and life becomes simpler. More pleasant. Enjoyable. 

Until... I start to build my walls again, which is inevitable, I'm a writer after all. It's what we do...we build worlds, worlds to  set new goals in, raise our standards, expect more from ourselves, and beat ourselves up for mistakes, crappy stats, and missed opportunities. But that's okay, because there's always our friends and family to bring us back and reel us in.  I think all of us creative types need our lifelines to pull us back from the brink of self destruction. 

If you're caught up in the cycle, read the quotes above, and press reset. Remember, you are fabulous, most of what you think is important, is not, and you're not alone. It's onward and upward from here guys. I wish you a pleasant journey.

Leigh