Empowerment

How to Spot Your Strength When You Feel Powerless

Lynette M Burrows

Last week I talked about finding your joy, especially in these crazy days of 2020. This week let’s talk about how to spot your strength when you feel powerless. There is lots of crappy stuff going on in 2020 that makes us feel helpless. But there are ways to take your power back. A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. – Christopher Reeve Strength Can Be Learned You have power over your mind– not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. – Marcus Aurelius Yes, it can. Like a kid learning to walk or to ride a bike, it’s not a one-and-done deal. The first step is to train yourself to recognize the things that make you feel helpless. These are your triggers. Once you recognize them, train yourself to avoid them or to respond to them differently. Sharpen Your Awareness There are certain images or words or places that trigger a feeling of helplessness. Knowing what these are, avoiding them when you feel vulnerable are one way to take back your control. Pay attention to your physical body. Do you feel shriveled up, closed, tight? Then […]

5 Ways to Support Your Creativity

Lynette M Burrows

The weight of political divisions, racial injustice, gender or ability discrimination, and natural disasters can be overwhelming. Particularly in 2020. Choose your meme, but many express dismay about the ongoing issues. And many creatives feel the impact of these important issues in a way that diminishes their creativity. Do you have a creative support network? Maybe it needs some reinforcement. Here are 5 ways to support your creativity with a support network. Supportive Peeps Mentors You need mentors. People who are more advanced in their craft, who can share their experiences. Mentors come in many forms. They can be one-on-one in person, but they can also be teachers in your creative classes, a memoir, or in how-to books. You may find a mentor in your genre related creative organization. SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America) has one such program. Peers Peers who understand problems, frustration, and successes are vital. They be in person or classmates, critique partners, co-authors, or online friends. You can use twitter chat, forums, zoom, and writer groups online or on your favorite social media site. Make certain you choose peers who give more positive interactions than negative. And that you dish out more positive […]

Nourish Your Soul

Lynette M Burrows

Have you grown weary of the pandemic? It’s going on and on and on. Dirty politics is everywhere. And bad people, angry people are showing their ugly everywhere. People suffering injustices and hatred are trying to make their voices heard—everywhere. How do you hang on in such trying times? You nourish your soul a little or a lot every-single-day. Society tells us that women suffer the emotional arrows of life more acutely. But your gender or the gender you choose, the color of your skin, your religious or ethnic or cultural lives—none of that means you don’t suffer. We are all hurting one way or another. Please read these quotes with your own pronouns of choice, your own gender, your own self in mind. I hope this collection of quotes can help nourish your soul a little today. No Matter How Dark it Seems There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for. J. R. R. Tolkien A lesson for all of us is that for every loss, there is victory, for every sadness, there is joy, and when you think you’ve lost everything, there is hope. Geraldine Solon You Can’t Control it All You may not control all […]