Measure your satisfaction

You may awaken at some point and in your life with thoughts of what it would take to feel more satisfied. You think you've found what it takes to motivate you. You find energy to work toward it. This may mean taking a course, studying for a test, exerting an effort that motivates you further.

You have discovered new reason to get up in the morning. You nurture hope. You feel you get closer to achieving your this ultimate experience, and then, something happens and you aren't able to achieve it. How you react will determine whether you perceive yourself differently. How you see yourself will determine whether you seek to change your view or circumstances.

1. Do you choose to focus on other desires, expectations, needs, or demands?

2. Do you decide to forget your original desire, want, or conditioned need?

3. Do to reassure yourself and convince yourself to keep trying?

4. Do you question endlessly whether you gave up too soon?

5. Do you find ways to dispel your self-doubt?

6. Do you disavow fully any debt, past sense of obligation, or not let go?

7. Do to sense a desire to apologize for a perceived failure?

8. Do you recognize an opportunity to redefine success?

It may be difficult to decide when to give up on a particular plan for success or when to revise it and keep moving toward new things you believe in. Some people spend their entire lives believing in the possibility of realizing a certain kind of satisfaction, and never give up. No matter what the odds or obstacles, they have faith. Other people may develop a sense of impatience and give up or decide its wiser to change focus for better results.

Whatever your situation, a sense of success can be grounded in your perception of satisfaction. How would you define this feeling? If you don't yet think you know what this is, how do you think it would feel? What would you imagine would contribute to your sense of satisfaction? Perhaps you don't link satisfaction with success at all. Some people are completely non-emotional about success. How do you measure levels of satisfaction? Take steps to clarify it in relation to success:

a) Is it emotional?

b) Is it spiritual?

c) Is it qualifiable

d) Is it quantifiable?

e) Is it better understood another way?

Close but no cigar

For anyone who has ever written a story and sought to publish it, in all likelihood, that person has also learned what its like to be rejected or kindly turned away.  If you've authored a book and sent out query letters to publishers, you may also know what its like to wait months Perhaps the writer was told that "the time isn't right" or "the material isn't suitable" or "market trends are changing."  Perhaps you didn't receive any details about the rejection. Whatever the reason, this kind of experience is humbling.  Yet, if you permit it, you can choose to learn a great deal.

1.  Don't take rejection personally: learn to step back and see yourself separate from your writing. What other people like or dislike about your writing isn't necessarily personal criticism.

2. Recognize a blessing in disguise: take this opportunity to reflect on your work, rethink or re-edit pieces and re-submit it to publishers. Remind yourself you're better off with a new chance. 

3. Request feedback: in many cases, you can obtain valuable comments from publishers, editors or friends and other people whom you permit to read your material.  Be brave. Ask! 

4. Consult an agent: if you have no agent, it would be in your interest to find someone who respects your work and encourages your writing development. Seek one out. Submit material.

5. Incorporate your spirit: rejection may postpone the unveiling of your true masterpiece.  While you review your work, decide whether you write with your heart or even from the soul. 

In the nick of time

As it happens, I was recently in walking through Chinatown in Sydney and became caught in a torrential downpour of rain. I wasn't carrying an umbrella and took shelter under a green awning. I was surprised at a Chinese woman. She stood beside a large flat screen tv that stood flat on the concrete. Her husband was backing up his car so that she could place it in the trunk along with other belongings.  She smiled at me.  I struck up a conversation with a British tourist who also waited uner the awning. She shared with me her story about her 3 weeks of sightseeking, all the sights she had seen and her preferences. 

This stranger also drew my attention to the fact that we were supposed to flip back an hour from eastern daylight savings to eastern standard Australian time. I had been unaware of that and I was leavnign early the next morning to catch a plane.  The fact that this woman told me this enabled me to awaken on time. This woman also talked about the value of time and how her Australian experiences had led her to redefine her priorities. This reminded me of the benefits of listening to my inuition.  

Not what you think

What if it isn't perceived misfortune or fear of insecurity which requires your attention as much as the impact of surprise on your life? Re-examine the value of surprise in your life. What do you learn? What do you overlook? How is it valuable in ways you hadn't anticipated? Think about the positive side to the element of surprise. Reflect and write about something meaningful you can see in the surprises you have known. They aren't always as bad as you might think!

Lightning bolt

When the day comes that you decide to make a change, it may hit you like a lightning bolt. You may not be used to taking steps to do anything differently than before. And then, an idea hits you. You’re dumbstruck. You think, “Eureka! I’ve it!”  Now is the time to focus on it. The idea is what you work toward. The act of taking a risk may seem daunting. Yet, deep inside, you know that you're ready. You sense its time to move ahead in ways that may shock other people, but that wouldn't bother you. The biggest risk you think you're taking is finally listening to yourself.