Training vs Trying: The Benefits of Perspective

There it is…looming up ahead. The lofty heights of Mount Speedbo!
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With only a week remaining until Seekerville’s annual writing challenge takes off to climb that peak, it seems everyone in the Village around you is milling eagerly at the starting line. Stretching muscles. Bouncing on the balls of feet. Fist-pumping and -bumping. Enthusiasm permeates the air. Woo Hoo! Let’s get this show on the road! Everyone is ready to leap across the starting line.
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EXCEPT YOU.
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Didn’t think we’d notice, did you?
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Sure, we’ve seen you do a few fist-pumps, throw out words of encouragement to your fellow Villagers. Talk the talk. But deep down, doubt weighs heavily.
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Maybe you signed on in previous years and were pleased with the results. But this year…can you really expect the same—or even better—results? Are you setting yourself up for disappointment if you try it again? You suppose, though, that if you try harder…
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Could be you’ve tried the challenge before and were disappointed in the results. You didn’t even come close to meeting the goals some Villagers set and achieved. You didn’t get the book done or revised as you’d hoped—and maybe you still haven’t despite a year’s passing. Yeah, you signed up again, but is there any REAL hope things will be different from the last time? Maybe if you just try harder…
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Or maybe you’ve never given Speedbo a shot, choosing to observe from the stands and cheer others on. But this year you’ve taken the leap and signed on despite serious reservations. Man, do you ever hope this isn’t a mistake. That the month won’t be just like any other month in the past year when you can’t find the creativity, time or energy to write and everything that can go wrong will go wrong. But maybe you could try harder...
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Could be, too, that you’ve never tried Speedbo at all, and have no intention of doing so this year. You’d be setting yourself up for failure, right? What’s the point in trying?
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Are any of these scenarios where YOU find yourself today as a month-long stretch of SpeedBo draws near?It seems to me the word “try” has gotten a bum rap. Webster’s defines it as an experimental trial. An attempt. To subject to something that tests the powers of endurance. But somewhere along the line the word “try” has taken on the implication of a weak, half-hearted struggle where there’s little or no expectation of meeting with any success. Don’t get your hopes up.
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How many times have you observed children, when challenged to do something, give a heavy sigh accompanied by an exaggerated eye-roll and a shoulder-slumped, doubt-filled “Well, I’ll TRY”? The message is clearly “I don’t expect much and neither should you.” Such a shame that a courage-laden word like “try” has been reduced to such as that. Is that little word intimidating you?

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If you haven’t noticed before now, our brains can be contrary at times. Occasionally we have to push them out of their well-worn ruts. Point them in a new direction. Not “I have to do this,” but “I get to do this.” Not “I dread doing this,” but “I’m eager to do this.” Likewise, what if, as you face a month of Speedbo, you mentally stop the negatively emotion-laden “Well, I’ll TRY” in its tracks? What if you change your perspective on the month ahead with a simple word substitution?
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Not a month of TRYING, but of TRAINING?
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Training to get your writing muscles in shape for the future. Training to build your creative endurance and repertoire of writing skills. Training to learn how to overcome obstacles that hold you back from reaching your writing goals. Seeing the month not as a futility-laden, emotionally-distorted TRY but as a work-out process, a time of preparation for the future of your writing as much as an immediate goal.  Does that take a little of the trying harder pressure off?
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Yes, by all means, set a tangible goal to shoot for. Something that stretches you a bit, but is realistic. A word count, finishing or revising a book. Writing a novella or a short story. Completing a contest entry or a book proposal for submission. But why not put a positive mental and emotional spin on it—see Speedbo as an opportunity to TRAIN versus try-and-sigh?
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I challenge you today to give some thought to how a simple word switch – TRAIN WISELY rather than try harder – might make a difference in how you approach the coming month. Discard the fear, discard the dread, and approach Mount Speedbo with growing hope and determination. Then throughout the month continue to coach yourself that you’re in training, educating yourself, exploring new territory, building the muscle of discipline and experience that will help carry you into your writing future.
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Share with us today where you think your own doubts regarding Speedbo may be centered. Very likely there are other Villagers who are in the same boat with you who can offer encouragement. Or if you are currently doubt-free, did you at one time have any? How did you change your thinking? Your feedback could encourage others who are uncertain or who haven’t signed on to Speedbo yet.
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If you’d like to be entered in a drawing for a copy of my May Love Inspired release, “The Nanny Bargain,” mention it in the comments section, then check the Weekend Edition to see if you’re a winner!
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Glynna

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GLYNNA KAYE treasures memories of growing up in small Midwestern towns--and vacations spent with the Texan side of the family. She traces her love of storytelling to the times a houseful of great-aunts and great-uncles gathered with her grandma to share candid, heartwarming, poignant and often humorous tales of their youth and young adulthood. Her Love Inspired books--Pine Country Cowboy and High Country Holiday--won first and second place, respectively, in the 2015 RWA Faith, Hope & Love Inspirational Reader’s Choice Awards. Coming in May 2017 is “The Nanny Bargain” and in October “Mountain Country Cowboy.”
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Concerned for his orphaned twin brothers, outdoor-gear shop owner Sawyer Banks urges new employee Tori Janner to apply for the nanny position their grandparents are advertising…and spy for him. With plans to start over in Hunter Ridge and dreams of reviving her quilting business, Tori takes the job—but refuses to report to Sawyer unless the boys' welfare is in danger. But soon it's her own heart that's in jeopardy. Because after spending time with the committed bachelor, she starts to see the depth behind his easy charm—and begins to imagine herself as his wife. PRE-ORDER HERE.