I hate to say I'm a quitter, but there's really no nice way to put it. If my husband and I are painting a room, I'm the one who moves the roller over about three square feet of wall before I complain that I'm tired and end up reading on the couch while he finishes up.
I'm the one who has lists full of good intentions: health plans, organizational goals, the plan to learn French. But we all know what happens... I last a week before it all goes down the drain.
But there is something that I won't give up, one goal that I stick to even when it seems impossible. Writing. It goes against all of my impatient tendencies, all of my laziness, my pessimism, my instinct to give up. But that's because there are stories to tell. So many stories that I probably won't get to them all in this lifetime. But I hope that these fingers will be tapping away, scribbling and scrawling until they're old and arthritic. And maybe someday those stories will be read, but for now... I'll just keep writing.
Are you persistent? What goal are you unwilling to give up on?
There's lots of things I want to do, lots of projects and plans, but the one thing I actually stick with is writing. Maybe all the energy we could put into other things gets focused on our writing? Let's go with that. :)
ReplyDeleteYes! I like that attitude!
DeleteThe one thing I stick with is reading. I'm trying to make myself finish a book, and it's hard to find time to read! But the reality is that the book is really good, so I just force myself to keep reading!
ReplyDeletemorgankatz505.blogspot.com
There have only been a few times when I didn't like a book enough to not finish it. But I finally had to tell myself that there are too many wonderful books out there to waste my time reading ones that aren't good. I think it's fantastic that you make time for reading!!!
DeleteI'm with you: I'll never give up on writing, especially my poetry. It just means too much to me.
ReplyDeleteYour poetry is too wonderful to give up on!
DeleteThanks, Kate. That's really nice of you to say. :)
DeleteMy grandmother used to say press on regardless and I am still writing despite everything else.
ReplyDeleteYour grandma was a smart cookie!
DeleteI'd be a liar if I were to say that I've never considered just giving up on writing for a profession. Every time I have, though, I always found that no matter what alternative plans I cam up with it would involve me writing on the side. It's better to embrace your fate. And I've learned that writing is a profession where persistence helps you get ahead, so forge ahead!
ReplyDeleteFor me the real epiphany came when I realized that I wanted to write REGARDLESS of whether it ever became an actual profession.
DeleteI've never given up on my goal to be an author, and so the realisation of that was a hard-fought dream come true.
ReplyDeleteI pick my battles carefully, and only strive for those things that I really need in my life. Sometimes we can hope for too much, which only leads to disappointment.
The hard-fought dreams are the most rewarding.
DeleteI am persistence in some things, like finishing my book, and a quitter in others, like learning to play the piano.
ReplyDeleteYay for you all the persistent writers! We will get to our finish/published line.
At least we stick with the really important things...
DeleteI have the same problem! I'm a quitter. But not with writing. It's the one thing I've never given up. Been tempted, but I love it too much. I read this book called "Quitter" by Jon Acuff and it was very insightful! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm putting "Quitter" on my TBR right now!
Deleteoh you sound a lot like me!! I have lots of plans that do not see the light of next day! But I guess if I put my mind to something I can really be persistent!
ReplyDeletePersistence is a great word. I too, can be seen as a quitter at times. I have a sort of all or nothing personality where I'm utterly obsessed about something for a week or to then completely bored with it after that, so I never stick with anything long. I recently read that people who are like that have 'scanner' personalities and it's really quite common. We have too many interests to be tied down to one thing consistently. I would like to be more persistent with my writing, but I'm better with my reading really, which I do almost every day.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of a "scanner" personality, but now I'm pretty sure that must be me :)
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