pay attention to what worked

Good morning! What does Wednesday look like where you are? Here it’s a walked puppy, sprawled on the floor, gnawing on a rope bone. Also: dandelion-tulsi-cardamom-and-anise tea and grey-but-blueing skies.

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It went ok, the test, the GRE. I think it went ok. Overall, I think actually went well. I think all the preparation was worth it. Those 3.5-4 hours flew by. There were answers I know I could have gotten that I didn’t manage to figure out, problems that I knew how to do that I choked on. I hate that feeling, and am frustrated, too, that I’m perseverance about what went wrong.

This is why it’s helpful to have immediate positive feedback after writing: we are already ruminating and spinning over what didn’t get done right, what could have gone better, why we weren’t perfect. When we get to hear and see, right away, what went well, then we have voices to counteract the inner editors, the inner naysayers. We have a little more ammunition. What’s a non-war metaphor for this? We have more weight, we have a counterbalance, we can see ourselves a little more clearly in the positive.

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Took yesterday off, did no email or facebooking or other electronic anything outside of radio and movies. It was a kid-day: popcorn and chocolate for breakfast (and then an adult evening — lentils for dinner.)

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Getting ready for work now — I’ll add later to this post, will share a write from Monday’s Write Whole workshop. The prompt was this: “What would you do differently if you knew you only had the rest of your life to live?” (from “Mortality,” Marcia Davis-Cannon).

Take this one for your prompt today, if you like. Take 10 minutes, push onto the page, and play.

Thank you, for everything.

4 responses to “pay attention to what worked

  1. Pingback: take up each old need « writing ourselves whole