At the grocery store this morning, I saw a sign with the words, “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” I wanted to buy it, but it was brown and my office walls are brown, so I didn’t. Still, the words resonated with me, so I wrote them down.
Believe you can and you’re halfway there.
I had just finished a Crossfit workout before the grocery run. Crossfit is not for sissies. When I started six days ago, I did only half of the workout. Everyone warned me I would be sore the next day, and they were right. Today, my body throbbed from 100 ring rows, 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups and 100 squats.
Before this workout, I thought, “I cannot do 100 sit-ups. Am I nuts?” But with four other ladies, I drew a line on the padded floor with chalk and started marking notches for every 10 that I did. At first, it wasn’t too bad. A few rounds later, my body felt like jelly. My legs quivered, my neck muscles shuddered. Sit-ups coupled with push-ups are a killer workout.
The other ladies were done, and I still had 20 of each to go. I thought, two more rounds of this? No way!
They encouraged me from the sidelines. But this was my fight. I could have walked away right there. I could have given in to the pain. Somehow, I found a well of strength within and told myself, I can do this. I pushed through the pain, pushed through the mental and physical barriers. I counted 5…then 10…15…and finally, 20!
After the sit-ups, the push-ups taunted me. But I beat them, just like I did the sit-ups. The squats were easy after that.When I completed my 100-work-out, it felt good.
So as I stood there at the store thinking about the truth of the sign’s words, I remembered how I almost didn’t even try today’s workout. I could have just not tried. But when I decided I could, I was able to do it.
♦ ♦ ♦
As a writer, I often face mental walls which I allow to defeat me. I can’t finish this manuscript. I can’t revise this story. I don’t have it in me to write more words today. The reality is, it’s tough but not impossible. People write novels and publish them. I have, once before. I don’t know why I find it hard to trust myself that I can do it again.
It’s hard, that’s why. It’s scary. If I finish my manuscript, it means another round of edits. And then, several more steps later, I will have to actually share my story with the world and leave my work open to criticism. So I hem and haw and put things in the way to distract me from my publishing goal. It is easier to not write. It is easier to fill my time with other things that don’t challenge me as much as finishing a novel does.
Last night, I picked up my historical novel Blemish and continued revisions on it. It is the one that is closest to completion, and one that I feel has the most heart of all my novels. My husband advised me to finish it, so I can get it out of the way and feel better. I shared the first chapter on Wattpad as a sign that I am throwing down the gauntlet and challenging myself to finish it.
Believe you can and you’re halfway there.
I will revise and mark my progress with figurative notches. A few more chapters to go. Just another pass-through. It will not be easy. There will be distractions. But I will keep counting and chipping away at it. And before I know it, I will have completed this manuscript, just as I have done with other projects before.
♦ ♦ ♦
Are you struggling with a similar challenge, be it with writing or something else? We can do it, friend. If we but believe, we’re halfway there.
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