I took a walk in the cold today, which I prefer over any other type of weather. Is anyone else like that?? Can't stand the heat or humidity? Luckily, I'm in Illinois so I get miserable amounts of both!
However, I did something while I was out that I'd never done before: I typed up a work of flash fiction. I'm not sure of the exact word count but it might even be microfiction. That was nice, I'll say. It felt like an actual use of my time instead of a waste. Maybe that's a habit I'll try to get into, writing as a walk.
But let's return to stubbornness for just a moment. Before, I said it was one of the most important things -if not THE most important- trait to have. You can't accomplish anything unless you stick to it.
Hold your horses.
See, the thing is to know where your limits are, and when enough is enough. There comes a point when it just isn't worth it.
I stayed awake for 23 hours finishing a story for a client because the deadline was closing in. I had wiggle room on the other side if I went to sleep for a few hours, but I wanted it to be done with. And I did it, didn't I? I did! But here's the catch. My work for that client is given to someone who then reviews it. I didn't even care about that at that point.
I care about it now, when they gave me a 6 out of 10 rating for the writing itself. They said the structure of the sentences didn't make sense, and that it was difficult to understand. The story got a 7 out of 10, but the only good thing to be said about it was, "There's nothing wrong with this story."
Ouch.
Compared to the 10 and 9 I got last time? Ouch.
And it was all my own stubborn fault. If I hadn't pushed myself, I would have done better. Let others learn from that mistake before they do it to themselves: Don't be an Emily Blue. Give yourself time to recuperate. Don't insist you can do everything, when you clearly can't.
You have limits. Find them, or they'll find you.
