Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Hamburgers and French fries

We get good at the things we strive to improve at. By strive I mean making a long-term commitment to elevate our performance and optimize our potential.

This is true for writing, overcoming an addiction, or building RC Flying Models. You just don’t suddenly realize a skill level or goal without investing a whole lot of sweat equity over a long period of time. I know, I know… for some success seems so effortless and trying to achieve the high standards of others can be very frustrating… however, the key word here is persistence.

Some people have talent, gobs of it, but if they don’t have the self-discipline to coax it along every day. Unnurtured, it won’t really take them very far. The world is full of those blessed by God with enormous talent who never take full advantage of it. I believe it is indispensible but a little bit can take you a long way. Again the operative words are self-discipline and persistence.

To quit smoking took my wife and I several years. Sometimes we went awhile on the wagon and at other times we would relapse in a time of weakness. Instead of giving up and saying, “Opps, I had a cigarette last night, I’m a failure, might as well go out and by a carton,” we instead girded our resolve with a little determination to resist that dark force that seduces us back into the darkness from whence we came. It’s like the hooker that Jesus told, “Go and sin no more.”

Becoming a writer means writing every day. That blog calendar that WDC provides needs to have every day shaded out. Every writer needs a blog (a journal) and you need to write in it daily. Strive for a page. Then you need a literary project to work on and there too, stick with it on a daily basis. Outlines are important because they keep you on track like a plan or blueprint keeps an RC Modeler on track or a scale provides a measure of progress on weight loss.

In the midst of all this are the chores of life, the need to invest in relationships and the importance of giving thanks for what you have. Don’t drop your hamburger, reaching for a French fry.