My beloved mama made another trip to the Emergency Room today; that’s the Bad and the Not-So-Great. The Good is, she’s back at home. I’ll be checking in on her first thing tomorrow morning, before the weekly Weight Watchers meeting. (The Bad.) I had a routine appointment with my doctor this morning, so I know my weight has gone up. Drat! On the other hand, there’s something very empowering about knowing where you are and what you need to do to get to a better place—if that’s in the Big Guy’s plan, that is.
This morning, I listened to a TED talk, one of my favorite things to do, and I found a real nugget of information: Invest in the process, not the outcome. The desired outcome, the goal, is only valuable insofar as it helps one to set a direction.
How many of us really do that, as a matter of course? Just do our best, I mean, and let things shake out? Not this cowgirl, I’m sad to say. I look at the goal, the end result, and if it doesn’t happen just the way I envisioned it, I (not always but too often) believe I’m a failure. And yet, truthfully, the thing I love most about writing is…writing! Royalty checks, bestseller lists and good reviews are all very well, don’t get me wrong. But I agree with the TED speaker: we have only limited control over our actions and absolutely none over the way things turn out. Now, I’m asking myself why I fret over things that I can’t control. It’s the process I really love–creating characters, coming up with a setting, making up a whole world as I go along. For me and, I think, for most writers, that’s where the rubber meets the road. Seems like a good idea to focus my energies and talents on the stories themselves, not the prizes I may or may not win. This is another of those things I thought I already knew–and didn’t. ( PLUG INTO YOUR HARD-WIRED HAPPINESS, Srikumar Rao. Look on Audible.com’s ‘channels’ for TED talks and you’ll find it.)
I found another jewel in Marianne Williamson’s book, TEARS TO TRIUMPH, previously mentioned, a prayer: Make my mind an open channel for right thinking. I love that so much! Since I hit a wrong key, you’re probably going to get a mixed-up version if you subscribe. Check out www.lindalaelmiller.com for the corrected one.
In closing, another question. What inspires you?
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Love your candles!!
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Prayers to your mom. Take care…
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What inspires me? That’s a hard one. I will have to think about that for awhile.
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I hope you mom is ok. Prayers for her. Yes we all should try to stick to our goals and I am one that doesn’t do that. I keep telling myself to ride my exercise bike every day because it is to hot outside to walk. So far this week I have only road it two times. There is always something else to do like wash down walls or something like that. I need to ride it first thing before I start on anything else.
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I do believe positive thoughts have power!
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There is power is positive PRAYER!
I’m sending up prayers for your mom’s improved health; blessings and peace to you.
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There is power is positive PRAYER!
I’m sending up prayers for your mom’s improved health; blessings and peace to you.
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Hope your mother is doing better.
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Praying for your mom and family. Inspiration…my faith and the way God works! My daughter is also an inspiration to me.
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I love prayer. I have a prayer book I read everyday. I am saying a prayer right now for your mom. Keeping you and mom in my prayers.
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Many people inspire me daily and I’m grateful for them.
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I hope your mom continues to get better. This is a rotten time of year to be sick. Keep us posted and good luck at Weight WAtchers, you may go down as bit before then or the doctors scale may be off.
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My faith inspires me!
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What causes me to be inspired….. often you do, you have keys to some deeper thinking, and make me go below the surface, and take another look at what I have been thinking or believing, .. and that my friend is why I continue to read you blogs and follow your writing.
thanks, I may not agree with everything you say but you always make me think about my position and not just be on autopilot.
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I am a very positive person and try to see something good in everything.
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I am going to have to think on that question.
Hope your mom is doing okay. My prayers are with you.
Linda
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Sending prayers for your mom. I hope she’s better soon.
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Sorry about your Mom, but glad she’s back home. Hang in there, i think sometimes we try to hard & can’t win no matter what. hang in there & wait a day or 2 & it will change & usually for the better. Give it a chance. the best, Jo Ann
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Emails like the one you just sent inspire. I have never even listened to a Ted talk, wouldn’t know how or where to find it, but I will remember the things you said.
During stress times (like with your Mom) and happy times (like one of my children visiting this weekend), weight will likely go up a bit.
Start again as soon as you can relax and it will go back where it was quickly and we can continue the journey down. It will happen if we really want it to.
Thaks for the encouragement
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So sorry about your mom, but so happy to hear she is back home and doing goo.
What inspires me is my son’s and my sisters …….they are my everything…
Okay Linda you have a wonderful day and take it easy .
talk with you later ….Mary
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Linda, I am sorry your mom isn’t doing well! I sure hope she is doing better and continues down that road. What inspires me? There are many things, but reading that even people that you respect and admire has the same trials in life as myself and struggles with the daily crap as I do. Just knowing that you can rise above it gives one the hope that I also can do that as long as I have help from family, good friends, and our Father! Thanks for always giving us inspirational thoughts! I love them!
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Praying your mom is doing better. I really try not to over think things because I then do not over estimate how things should be. I am grateful to believe every day and I love my family and friends. Have a great week whatever it brings into our lives.
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Sorry to hear that your mom is not well again. Glad to hear that she is back home though. And I would never think of u as a failure. You are one of the best authors I have ever had the privilege to enjoy. We all feel like that at one point or another. Just sit back and think of all that you have accomplished in your life. And what inspires me. Is knowing that the good Lord has let me wake up another day to love my husband and children and the rest of my family. Hope your week goes well and thank you
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What inspires me, Love. I lost my Mom in May, very sudden. She gave me so much love that my heart is so full. I try to give a lot of love back that way she did. Hope your Mom is doing well.
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Linda , I so enjoy your newsletters. If I am having a rough day it just helps me when I read about your day. I am a long time fan of your books and look forward to any new one you may write. Thanks for sharing Linda.
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Linda– Here’s praying that everything is good with your mom.
We only have one mother and as we all get older we realize that they aren’t going to be with us forever. Mine has dementia and I lose a little bit of her everyday.
On the more cheerful side, I love your books and have probably read about 90% of them
Hugs Donna
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I know what it’s like to take care of one’s Mother. My Mother lived with me for 5 years. Then she kept falling a lot and I just knew she would break a hip so I placed her in a nursing home. Two months later she fell and broke her hip. The one thing I was trying to prevent happened. Two months later she died. Sometimes I think if I had kept her with me, would she have lived longer? She was 89 when she died.
As to the question what inspires me, I guess it’s my family. They inspire me to keep trying new things. I learned medical transcription, calligraphy, knitting, and now I am trying to write a book. Of course authors like you are inspiring me to try this. I’ve always wanted to write a book. I hope it gets published but if it doesn’t, my family will have a book to remember me by.
I recently turned 62 and I’ve been thinking about my mortality. I have a bucket list in my mind, not written down. I guess I need to write it down. I always wanted to attend a rodeo and two weeks ago I got to attend one. My favorite part was the bull riding. Another thing on my bucket list was riding in a Ferris wheel. I did that last summer. I have never flown and that’s next on my bucket list. I just need the money to do this.
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My faith inspires me, my kids too, their grown up now.
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My mom sleeps about 16 hours a day, which gives me lots of time to read! Good and bad all rolled into one!
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Keep writing and we’ll keep reading.