What does it take to knock you off track when you’re trying to reach a goal? Migraines do it to me sometimes. Although, while I’m sitting here pain-free, I wonder if I could try pushing through the pain to write anyway. I’ll take my medication of course, but can I keep going while I wait for it to work? I’m no glutton for punishment, but I have noticed simply setting an ambitious goal with a hard deadline seems to be followed by a migraine. Is it my fear trying to make me run away from a scary task? If I show my body that I’m not going to run away, would I have fewer migraines?
Other times, it takes much less to derail me. An annoyance with misbehaving technology or a late meal is enough to put me in a bad mood. And apparently, a bad mood is an excuse not to write. At least, in that moment it seems that way. If I look back some day and realize I didn’t achieve my goals because I couldn’t eat lunch on time and got irritated, how will I feel then?
I wanted to find some kind of magic to help me get motivated to write. (Motivation to clean the house, be more productive at work, and exercise more would also be fantastic, but one thing at a time, right?) After reading many self-help articles and a few books on dealing with procrastination, I got the answer more literally than I expected. One of my nieces gave me a “House Blessing Magic Candle.” The part of the instructions I followed most carefully was “visualize the outcome you desire.”
My dream is to publish at least eight novels, preferably in the next eight to ten years. Writing frequently and consistently will be the key to achieving that dream. As I visualized doing the work, I imagined myself enjoying the entire process of writing, not just the finished product. This candle is apparently made to burn slower than a normal candle, allowing plenty of visualizing opportunity. Day after day I lit it and let it burn, thinking “I enjoy the process” every time I looked at it or caught its scent.
It seemed to be helping. I was not transformed into a diligent writer, but I was beginning to look forward to sitting down and writing. I focused on the feeling of pleasure any time the words came easily or inspiration solved a plot issue.
The instructions say “when the candle is done, you’ll find a stone inside that will be supercharged with your intention.” I was eager to see what the stone looked like. Was it just a smooth, plain rock or a translucent crystal? However, waiting was part of the process as the candle slowly burned down, day by day. I was able to see the stone eventually, in the bottom inch of the candle. It had stripes of dark and pale gray. It was still deep in a puddle of hot wax, and I resisted the urge to scoop it out.
A day later, holding the glass candle jar with a cloth to avoid burning my hands while I swirled it around, I saw a second stone. Smaller than the first, it was a cloudy white color. Holding a hot glass jar in your hands to swirl liquid wax around in a still-burning candle is not an image of patience. I still held out at least another day or two before pulling out the stones. Now that I have the stones, I’m not doing anything with them. I don’t have a good place to display something so small although they would be a good reminder of what I’ve learned: the end product is just a tiny fraction of the whole process.
Maybe the candle has magic in it, or maybe it’s simply the opposite of what we put ourselves through every time we dwell on negative thoughts and fear of failure. That only builds up walls between ourselves and what we want. Instead, focus on what you want, over and over. Put your attention on the good feelings and good results that come each time you put in the work. No matter how small or slow the progress is, enjoy it.
