Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

You will never feel truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life. Heather Schuck

September always seems like the time to start something new. This is probably because the new school year starts in September. When we finish a project we need a new project to take its place. It has taken forever to finish this project of publishing the novel I started in 2012. I expect I’ll spend a lot of time wondering why it took so long. One reason is when I started this blog in 2018 it took time away from my novel. The big reason is I was scared to put my novel out there. It is with fear and trembling, I will push publish when I get my cover and finally finish the last edit.

Recently reading a blog by Daniel Steele she says she feels the same way about every novel when she releases it to her publisher. Will they think it is okay? If Daniel Steele still second-guesses herself, why would any of us think we would be satisfied and confident our own meets the grade?

The learning curve has been steep. Hopefully, the next projects will not take so long. If nothing else it has been a lesson in perseverance and determination to finally call it finished. It is time to move on to the next project. When our dog died I wrote a children’s story and it has sat on my shelf for years. It needs an illustrator and I have decided to see if I can learn how to do it.

Life is about challenging ourselves to achieve our goals. One of my biggest challenges has been setting goals. We can’t achieve them if we don’t set them. I can now afford the time for artistic and writing pursuits. There are times in our lives when all we can do is what makes us money and look after kids. It might seem like that phase will never end, but it does, and when it does it is good if we have pursuits to take their place.

Many young women seem to be better at goal setting than I was at their age. One of the challenges women face is prioritizing our life. If we focus on careers and put marriage and motherhood off, we may miss the chance for marriage and motherhood. Many of our dreams can come true after the heavy slogging of marriage and motherhood, but marriage and motherhood might not happen after the dream career is achieved.

Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls – family, health, friends, integrity – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. Gary Keller

We think we need balance but what we really need is to focus on what is most important and give it the time it needs while looking after everything else in our life at the same time. Life is a juggling act and we may only be able to juggle a certain amount of things at once. As long as we keep juggling the most important things and realize not all things have the same resiliency we can pick up and drop balls as our life requires. Hobbies and interests are some of the balls that can be set aside when there isn’t time for them.

Relationships can never be set aside without real consequences. Relationships are one of the glass balls in our juggling act. We may think they are tougher than they are because the relationships are long-standing but it seems they are as fragile as they always were. We can hurt the feelings of a friend we’ve had our whole lives and the relationship may never be repaired. We have what is called grey divorce; couples have built their lives together now going their separate ways. Will they find what they are looking for?

My oldest sister has been married for 59 years. This is an accomplishment. In 2011 they had an anniversary party I attended. They’ve built a life together, they each have their own interests, and they are still accomplishing things. Theirs is a well-lived life.

If we can figure out what is important from what just calls our attention we can have a well-lived life. Can we make our dreams come true and keep our relationships strong?

Don’t confuse having a career with having a life. Hillary Clinton

Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. Dolly Parton

I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles. Zig Ziglar

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you will come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

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The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results Hardcover – Illustrated, April 1 2013

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Secrets and Silence: What if your biggest secret became public? by [Belynda Wilson Thomas]

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Secrets and Silence: What if your biggest secret became public? Kindle Edition

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