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Zoe Younger

~ Life Changing Journeys, Life changing Love

Zoe Younger

Tag Archives: goals

Apologies for going Missing in Action…

05 Thursday May 2016

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, MY BOOKS, SHATTERED, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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"North and South", books, courage, Elizabeth Gaskell, friends, goals, Irish Australians, John Thornton, LIFE, loss, LOVE, Margaret Hale., Relationships, Richard Armitage, sailing, Survivors, thriver, victim, writing

Retirement crisis concept as a couple of adirondack chairs sinking in the ocean during a thunder storm as a metaphor for financial investment problems for retiring seniors who lost their savings or broken dreams symbol.

My humble apologies for neglecting you, my friends. Life has been all go and not much stop recently. Now, though, it’s time to get back into routine.

My work on “Shattered” has slowed to a crawl. This is Rosaleen’s story, a redemption story. She and Mary from “Torn” were childhood friends and I’m sorry to say that the Rosaleen of “Torn” was not the friend Mary knew back when. She had always wanted more… more money, more things, a higher position in social circles and she thought she had it all, until “Torn”. Now she must start again, from the bottom; and when I say from the bottom I mean much further and she’d have to dig!

I’m sorry to say that Rosaleen died in the first iteration of “Torn”. She died in childbirth. She was swept off the ship en route to Australia. She was left behind in Africa. What I didn’t do to try to kill her off is hardly worth mentioning but – she survived. She always was a survivor. If there is one thing that stands out from counselling, it is that the victims are dead. The fact that one is a live makes one a Survivor. But, don’t be content to merely survive, make sure you go on to thrive.

Survivors are the backbone of my writing. I admire and look up to people who have not just survived but who go on to thrive. Those who pick themselves up by their own bootlaces and head onward and upward.

Who are your inspirational literary thrivers? One who was in part the inspiration for “Torn” was Elizabeth Gaskell’s John Thornton from “North and South”. For those of you who have not read this book or seen the miniseries where Richard Armitage does a very memorable job of playing “Go where you will… the name of John Thornton of Milton is know and respected amongst all men of business…”. From childhood poverty after his father’s suicide he paid his father’s debts AND raised himself and his family to fame not “in England only, but in Europe…” as his mother proudly declares. To be bankrupted himself, lose everything and yet not afraid to begin again.

Of course, beside him he had the resilient Margaret Hale, survivor of much family heartache and tragedy. Surviving and Thriving are always so much better when  you are not alone.

So, I’ve told you mine, now please, tell me about one of your inspirational literary heroes?

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What happened?

25 Friday Dec 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

goals, New Years resolutions; jigsaws; rose coloured glasses;

This happened!

Well at least this is what my writing life feels like.

All the pieces are there, or so I’m hoping, but putting them together in a recognisable pattern seems beyond me.

Lately when I pick up a piece it’s blank! I hope when I turn the blank ones over there’s a picture on the other side which fits into the others… somewhere, but lately the picture is either blurred or indistinguishable.

Maybe I need new glasses. Not rose coloured glasses. I’m a little too much of a realist for that. Come to think about it, maybe I need a pair just occasionally.

I’ve lost the picture for my jigsaw. As any jigsaw enthusiast will tell you that may be a problem or it may be just an extra level of challenge. Let’s say I’m challenged. Yeah, that sounds about right.

The good news is that I have ten days off work coming up soon. I’ll be turning over all the blank pieces of the puzzle hoping to find that picture. I plan on reclaiming my office and setting my goals for the next year. Yes, that’s right, goals rather than New Year’s Resolutions.

The good news is that I’ve written a post! After being MIA for a while, that feels good. Damn good. Thanks very much to those who have read this far. I promise I’ll try hard to put that picture together and, like a stubborn-almost-to-the-point-of-masochism jigsaw enthusiast, I’ll get there. I promise.

Don’t ask me to define “there” just yet but the picture is a work in progress. A stunning jigsaw-worthy scene. I just start with the edge pieces, define the boundaries then look at each piece carefully and put it together, piece by piece.

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Word of the Week: Focus

25 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, THE WRITERS' LIFE

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Tags

focus, goals, Michael Hyatt, SMARTER goals

 

Cyber woman with modern military target eye concept

Yes, I know it’s not Wednesday but I’ve got a new word of the week. Maybe the month or the year! It won’t be a surprise I’m sure when I say it’s focus. I have been asked to find a word which will keep me ‘on target’ and what better word is there than FOCUS. What a good word to keep me on track, what is my central point, where to keep my attention or activity. Where is my centre, my heart, my core, what’s at my nucleus?

Firstly, what is worthy of my focus? What will get me where I want to go? What can I do which will get me there in the best, fastest, most efficient manner? What is your goal? For today, for this week, this month, this quarter, this year? No, it’s not new year and that ship has sailed so my new focus is on this financial year 2015/2016. This time my goals are not going to be nebulous, unformed things but clear, concise, SMART or should I say SMARTER. Thanks to Michael Hyatt at http://michaelhyatt.com.

Specific; Measureable; Actionable; Realistic; Time bound; Exciting; Relevant.

This isn’t something I’ve just read about today but something that has been bubbling along for some time. As the saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” Not before time and, of course, not for the first time, my goals are smarter, clearer, specific.

There are so many distractions out there that you don’t have to look for them. There is so much information available in the age of the internet that I can easily lose sight of my big dream. So, when I don’t know what to do next, what’s my priority? Focus.

Do you remember what your biggest dream is? How often do you think about where you are going and how you will go about achieve getting there? So, what are you focussed on? Where are you going? That’s a rhetorical question that only you need to know the answer to. The next question is, have you found the road there? Is it a road less travelled? A path forged by one of your mentors? Or, are you intending to create your own path?

Whatever it is, go for it. Make your dream come true.

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