There Is A Pirate In My House

There’s a pirate in my house…or so one would think.

In fact, I wish I was the pirate. Think about it. Are there any pirates you know of in literature or movies that plague themselves with worry like we writers do? No! Of course not!  At least none that I know of. They wouldn’t be any fun anyway if they squandered any amount of energy on it.

Keep in mind we’re clearly not talking about the REAL life ones today so get on board will ya! Besides if I were, I’m only in favor of the passionate, fun-loving, laid back, respectable kind anyhow–the one that’s not going to give me a rough time. LOL.

Let me just toss a tiny list (of two for lack of time) out for ya:

Captain Jack Sparrow: the guy has pure charisma about him and is as smooth as butter,  quite intelligent too. Any writer would kill to have this guys vocabulary.

Captain Hook: Pshhh! Worry, what worry? His only worry is Peter Pan! Which in my opinion is nothing to worry about if he would just get along with the kid ! I mean what’s not to like about Peter Pan? Hook clearly needs to stop playing the victim. Move on man!

As for the rest of them…who wouldn’t want to give up stress for adventure, treasure hunts, mermaids, the tropics, and grand travel all over the world? Someone who doesn’t worry, that’s who. Someone who wants to have fun, that’s who. Someone who values happiness, that’s who. Someone carefree (or practically so), that’s who. Utopia right? No? Oh, but it CAN be done.

Here’s something I realized (thus far) on my journey to accentuate the positive, to be an optimist this year….you don’t need a boat to be a pirate. You don’t need an ocean. You don’t need a hook for a hand, or a patch on your eye.  Blast those stereotypes into the water! You just need to not worry. You need to adapt your thoughts and habits…make them extraordinary. Change them so that you worry less and enjoy the writing process (or life) more. Your mind and your desire is your compass. Use your willpower to form habits. The habits you form become the waves that carry you to bliss, to happiness–that point (North, South, East, West) when you reach your goal(s).

 

 

Okay, so back to the original topic of all those mundane writerly (how I wish that was an official word) things I have to do, well, thinking on such a little task as making backup copies of all my writing (bless my pirate USB drive) just reminds me of the BIGGER things I have to do to maintain my dream of being published. Which overwhelms me…clearly. This I know…the only time I feel inadequate is when I allow doubt to enter the picture. Luckily, I have a quote for you to help blast that nasty little enemy to pieces. So fire up your cannons because this one is worth all the fuse on the ship.

So what I’m trying to tell you is this: worry leads to doubt and…

“Mediority with a dose of doubt can keep you from excellence.”–Dave Ramsey

So don’t let doubt get to you. The thing is, how do we go about accomplishing this. The best way I can put it is this…you need to go into pirate mode. Why, because the things you are worrying about aren’t really as bad as they seem. You need to forget about the obstacles. You need to lay back, hands behind your head and relax. You need to look around you and find calm in the storm. You need to “savor the storm” so to speak. You need to keep your wits and confidence about you. You need to let go of all the worry and just sail forward. Sail forward. Put simply, that’s all a pirate does. He sails forward with the pursuit of happiness in mind. That’s his instruction manual. Sail forward. Don’t torture yourself. Keep things simple.

Last thoughts to remember:

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” ~Henry David Thoreau

I’ve been dreaming so long, sometimes I forget not to get overwhelmed with all the work and dedication it takes to LIVE my dreams. It wears me out on a daily basis. I’m going to forget all that worry. I’m going to bottle it up, cork it,  and toss it into the ocean. I’m going to let the ocean do with it what it will. I’m going hoist a new flag.

This is what the flag will say:

*modified from the Live Your Life manifesto that I came across while reading about someone’s sailing adventures and checking out the cool photos that went with it. You can modify it for personal use if you like:

Many apologies if you can’t read it because of the tiny print. I figure if you are serious about the whole no worries thing, you’ll find a magnifying glass and take a closer look. Just pretend you’re on a tiny treasure hunt will ya? 🙂

Arrrr! Alright, that’s my cue. I’m out. LOL.