Challenge: Stamina – How To Keep Going #Creative #Writing #Tips

Many years ago I was sitting in a seminar at Writing NSW and a speaker said 99% of the writers in that room would never get published. I looked around. About 150 people were listening. Still, I knew then and there I’d be in the 1%, because I wouldn’t give up until it was me. Other writers could give up, but I’d keep going. Decision made.

Of course it hasn’t been as simple as deciding, then doing. Like any challenge, career or personal, the long journey to success can eat away at your self-esteem and initially there’s little financial reward for all your efforts. Even when the money does start rolling in, few published writers manage to make a living with their writing alone. It often feels like it’d be easier to give up.

Not for me of course – as I’m so enormously successful (ha ha!).

Well, all hilarity aside, according to my friends and family I do have a knack for stamina. They say I’m focussed, driven, tenacious, determined… wilful. They say it as if it’s a natural gift, something I was born with, and to a degree they might be right because we’re all born with certain skills.

I remember catching buses far and wide as a teenager to consult resources at different libraries and museums to get top marks in my coursework, just so I could get sponsorship for university. I remember in my twenties spending all my annual leave one year working for free in various businesses because I needed the experience to support a career transition. I remember editing a story while in labour, pausing only for contractions, because I wanted to complete its first draft before my baby was born.

However, none of this means I face challenges with ease – stamina is only a sturdy beast if it’s fed the right nutrients, given constant attention, and loved for what it is.

Over the years I’ve devised ways of conjuring and encouraging stamina, so I thought I’d share my top ten tips. Hopefully they might help you in some way, regardless of whether your challenge is creative or physical, personal, career or organisational…

1. Promise yourself.

Make a deal with yourself right now that, the next time you experience a setback and feel like giving up, you won’t, merely because of today’s promise. When that future time comes, you’ll shun every doubt, ignore the naysaying niggles, and just keep going. Promise yourself not to waste any more time on considering alternatives – that’s precious time you could be spending on your challenge! Re-centre yourself through your promise, and carry on.

2. Give up.

Conversely, consider the alternative – giving up. In particular, imagine telling others you’ve stopped. How would you feel in that imagined moment? Would admitting defeat aloud make you feel ashamed or angry at yourself? Perhaps disappointed for giving up when you still had more to give? If you haven’t yet tried your hardest, if you really want this and can’t imagine telling anyone you’ve given up, then use those answers to fuel your fire.

3. Remember before.

Since you set yourself this challenge and started pursuing it, have you felt more fulfilled, connected or real? Does your challenge fulfil a part of you that would otherwise languish in a disconnected reality or soulless hell, as it did before? Have you tried other things but keep coming back to this? If so, then your challenge is already so much a part of who you are that you can’t possibly abandon it. Keep going! This is the real you!

3. Look away.

When you consider the long road ahead, some goals can feel overwhelming. So don’t look at it. Most goals can be broken down into small, achievable steps. Just prioritise which steps come next (what will bring the most value to your challenge?) and focus on the one directly in front of you. Stamina can sometimes be as simple as putting one foot clearly in front of another. Don’t quit, or get distracted (by The Internet!), just take a moment to sit for a bit, then refocus and carry on.

4. Align yourself.

Sometimes fighting for your dreams can be mentally draining, especially when everyone else seems to be having fun because it’s a weekend, the evening, or a public holiday. Try not to think of those having fun; instead think of all the others out there also working on their dreams. They’re doing the same as you, sacrificing to pursue their goals (I’m one of them!), so align yourself with them, straighten out your perspective, and consider yourself part of a community.

5. Compete consistently.

Every time you reach a target, immediately set yourself a higher goal to achieve next time. Reach further, push harder, think longer, research extra, experiment wider, extend your limits and keep learning. The more you learn and develop your skills, the faster you’ll achieve your goals. Regular goal setting and incremental completions will both keep your skills up-to-date and prevent time slipping away without your getting any closer to your end goal.

6. Celebrate backwards.

Look backwards and see how far you’ve come since you started tackling this challenge. You’ve achieved so much already! Remember how good it feels to get one step closer to your goal. Other people, further behind you on this journey, would love to be where you are now. Celebrate how far you’ve already come, use the success of it to spur yourself on, and realise that the end goal is closer than it used to be. You’ve come too far to turn back now!

7. Celebrate forwards.

Visualise achieving your end goal and imagine the validation you’ll feel. You’ll have made the right decision in committing to this challenge, and you’ll be so grateful you made it all the way to the end. Focus on that end result now, and use it to motivate yourself.

8. Clear Rest.

A lot of challenges involve time, money and sacrifice. It’s easy to exhaust yourself, feel pressured, or lose sleep. That kind of lifestyle isn’t sustainable and can lead to burnout. Don’t risk burnout! Balance your commitment against scheduled time off, with clear boundaries, and again no distractions! Don’t let distractions reduce the efficiency of your work, rest, or challenge, as each element can influence the success of the others. Allow your mind to be bored, rest your body, eat healthily, drink water, exercise, reduce stress, and revive.

9. Seek positivity.

Surround yourself with people who also have goals and are facing challenge, and absorb their positive attitude. They don’t have to be facing a challenge similar to yours, it could relate to any goal. Exchange stories, compare tactics, and listen to how they achieve, then use their experience to inspire you. If you do find someone with a similar goal, propose being accountable to each other for achieving a certain goal by a certain time so you both stay on track.

10. Develop confidence.

As with stamina, confidence is a skill to be practiced, developed and improved. Monitor the things you tell yourself, interrupt any negative thoughts, and replace them with productive and positive mantras. Try not to get too discouraged by setbacks – everybody has them. Give yourself positive feedback. You have the skills and knowledge to do this (and if you don’t you can develop them)! You can do this!

Of course tips are easier to read than put into practice. I still have to remind myself to do these things! To reduce distractions, for example, I’ve moved my phone out of the bedroom so I’m not checking emails until work hours start, so I can rest when I’m resting. To keep up my confidence, I display past achievements on my bookshelves and in frames around my desk, and set myself weekly word count targets I can easily achieve. Last year I developed a ‘Writing Resilience’ playlist of music, to keep me inspired by others’ experiences at facing challenge, and to share ways to handle stress I blogged about 15 Ways to Survive While Under Pressure.

What about you?

Have you got any tips or stories to share on developing or maintaining stamina?