This weekend gave me something I haven’t had in a while—time to think.
Why, you may ask?
Well, on Thursday I felt a sore throat coming on, and by Friday it was in full swing, accompanied by a headache and achy glands. Needless to say, I didn’t go anywhere this weekend.
Instead, I spent my time resting, watching videos, reading a little, and working on a goal-setting plan called the 411 from The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. It’s an excellent book, and my bestie pointed me in the direction of finally getting this process organized. I also attended church through a YouTube livestream, which meant I didn’t miss the beginning of the new lesson series, Conversations with God.
I even returned to my next novel.
After writing the prologue, I expected to feel energized and ready to dive headfirst into either new chapters or rewriting the eleven chapters I already had drafted. Instead, I discovered that months of stress and distractions had taken a larger toll on my creativity than I realized. Somewhere along the way, I allowed outside circumstances to consume time, energy, and focus that should have been devoted to writing.
The result? My next novel ended up in a holding pattern, and my muse felt strangled.
But being forced to slow down has a way of creating clarity.
Between the naps, the cough drops, the headaches, the goal planning, and the quiet moments of reflection, I realized something important: I need to stop giving other people power over my time, my emotions, and my creative energy.
You would think that after all these years, I would have learned that lesson completely. Apparently, life decided I needed a refresher course.
I have an important meeting this week, and I intend to stand my ground and advocate for myself. I’ll let you know how it goes.
More importantly, though, I started writing again.
Last night, I began rewriting the first chapter of my novel and even found myself brainstorming ideas for another book that’s been sitting patiently in draft form.
I’m reawakening slowly, but it’s happening.
Slowly but surely, I can feel that creative spark returning.
So while being sick certainly isn’t fun, this unexpected downtime reminded me of something valuable: sometimes rest isn’t wasted time. Sometimes it’s exactly what we need to regain perspective, reconnect with our goals, and rediscover the things we love.
I’m still dealing with the cough, the headaches, and the achy glands, but the sore throat is improving, and I feel like I’ve used at least part of this downtime wisely.
Now, I really need to get some sleep. I won’t tell you what time it is, but let’s just say I’ll probably be sleeping in again. (Apologies, Sweetheart.)
Until next time, have a fabulous week. Fill it with hugs, love, laughter, and blessings.
And as always…
Good night. Or good morning. 😴
We are Creatively Unlimited! 