Day 5 - (Motivation) Don't Dance Through Injuries...

Don't dance through injuries and hope for the best. Pain is a signal, not a challenge. Listen to your body - and your doctor. Only push if you're medically cleared to do so. Ignoring it won't get you ahead. It delays and destroys your future. ~Acay Anil

No, we are not talking about pain today, but we are going to talk about ignoring things that you know might not be right. We are talking about listening to your gut instinct. Still, let's start with dancers and athletes.

Dancers and athletes know their careers depend on their bodies. They know their career is dependent on how they perform. If they cannot rehearse, perform or play, they do not get paid. They know there is always someone who is right behind them who will step in and take over their role or take over their position and they will be history. So what will they do? They will play through an injury? "Oh, it is just a sore muscle." "It's nothing. I just need to ice it," they say. When in reality, it is much more serious. 

And when it finally does come out that the problem was worse, the career is over, or seriously delayed... and that person in the wings does indeed step in and take over the role. 

As I said, I am not here to talk about pain, but to focus on the writing.

When we write, there will be moments when you are madly charging toward a deadline, trying to get through that next chapter or to get through that next scene, and your brain starts to send up warning signals. We are talking about that gut instinct feeling. According to the Cambridge Dictionary online, a gut instinct is defined as "a strong feeling that makes you sure that you are right [or wrong], even though it is not based on facts." There is something that isn't quite right about what is going on with that scene, but you know that things will work out later in the chapter, or even later in the book. "It's fine," you tell yourself. 

You just told yourself to ice that injury. 

As a professional writer, you also need to pay attention to your career and the things going on around you. Maybe your editor is saying things differently. Maybe revisions are coming back in a different format? Maybe you are seeing a shift in how books are being released in the bookstores? Are you paying attention? Or, are you saying that it is just a pain and it will go away? It may be a small injury, or it may be worse.

I don't want you to be paranoid about everything. Paranoia will destroy you just as much so don't over do it. But at the same time. Don't dance through those injuries.