Think about these three things … Play, Passion and Purpose
In your life, where do you play? What are you passionate about? What is your purpose? Are there any commonalities among these areas? What do your answers tell you about your intrinsic motivation?

I don’t know about you but I think often about my purpose in life. It is an ongoing struggle for me, now that I have more time on my hands and I am not employed out in the real world. Before, I worked to support my family, then to provide healthcare for us. Life changed and suddenly I couldn’t work so now what is my purpose. What can I contribute to society now?
I considered this a lot, every time I thought I had the answer to purpose something would happen. I was right back where I started.
Recently, listening to a lecture the professor asked what do you do to play? My first thought was… I am an adult, I don’t have time to play. I have too much to do. But that bugged me a lot. When did I forget how to play, or when I lose sight of its value. I thought about all the things I used to do for fun. Dang, it’s been a long time since I’ve done any of them. I need to play, that’s it. My inner child feels neglected.
Then I considered passion the next p of the three. Well, I am passionate about my family, and my hobbies. But then I came back to play. Do I do these things I am passionate about because I am having fun or because I have always done this. Busted, it is simply routine to me!
When I learned my hobbies, I was excited and charged through the project. I was having fun. Now, I do them because I know how but do I really feel the same excitement. Sadly, I don’t. My hobbies have become habit not fun. I am not motivated to finish them at all.  Then I am back to that third P, purpose and more questions than answers.

As I am writing I don’t have the answers I want. Evaluating one’s life is important and should be done often. Like the old adage, life is too short to miss a thing. I want the most life can offer so I need to answer the three P’s.  I will find joy in the tasks I set again.

What about you?

Do you believe it is a teachable or learnable skill like  other life skills?

Benjamin Franklin is a classic example of working at a goal until he mastered it. The goal, I speak of is his writing. He dissected stories after reading them and rewrote them in his own words. Once he completed his story, he would compare it to the original and adjust his piece accordingly. Then he wrote the same story in poetic rhyme, this inspiring method opened the door to possibilities that he had not considered with the previous  entry. Hence expanding his creativity.

How often do we do a task at hand in the same way over and over? Regardless if it is works or not, simply because it is the way we’ve always done it. Maybe we should try different ways each time, expand our knowledge base and open our mind to different possibilities like Franklin did.

Today, I am going to take one of my favorite short stories apart like Franklin did and see what/where my mind goes with the story. I haven’t tried re-writing another’s work before so I am looking forward to seeing the results. Practice,  and more practice is the key to a writers journey to success. I am always looking for inspiration and this methodology is appealing.

What methods do you use to expand your creative process?

Every writer has a story, what’s yours?

Authors create their work, they live and breathe with every word on the line. Then the next logical move is into the publishing arena. What is not said, is the feeling of vulnerability that comes with letting your creations into the public view.

Do you remember holding your child’s hand when they were first learning to walk? That moment when you realized it was time to let go and give your child the opportunity to soar on their own. It feels similar to me, I know in my heart that my work is ready and can soar but the over protective me is holding on when I should simply let go and move on to my next project.

Opening that door and letting everyone see your soul bared takes courage. My poetry is very personal and emotionally painful at times, so I am finding it difficult to let it go. I’ve signed a contract to publish and thus far they have been amazingly supportive with the process. I hope you support my writing when it is out there for the world to see.