Thursday, 7 July 2016

Happy to Offend



I was recently ‘accused’ of being a motivator. I have to admit it made me smile. And why not? Isn’t it a good thing to encourage another person, especially a fellow writer, to look at a particular challenge from a more positive and constructive perspective?

The pressures we experience today, even on the most basic of levels, may leave us fighting a battle we can do without. I’m referring to elements of everyday life, maybe a mother or father racing against time to get the children fed and watered before school, or the harangued worker trying to meet objectives, with a stressed-out boss hovering over their shoulder – or an exhausted shop manager counting down the hours before getting home to their sanctuary, only to be met by the demands of…the blank page.

I read and shared a tweet yesterday that celebrated the feeling of absolute joy when you’re caught up in a free-flow phase, where everything is going as it should and the gates to the Valhalla of expression are wide open. It’s certainly the place to be – the writer’s Nirvana – the complete opposite of the dreaded dark forest of Writer’s Block, where so many find themselves after enduring a day of stress and strife.

 
What better reason, when you find yourself in a good place, than to step up and share some of your positivity with a friend or associate who may just require a kind word of encouragement, or even a square or two of chocolate to dip into their tea or coffee to set them on the right path?

From my experience, when someone is struggling to express, what they’re usually lacking is a friendly directional push. I’m not afraid to shove, either, but I’ve found that a gentle shunt usually suffices. And once that works, more often than not there’s no looking back. The best thing, of course, is that such a service – motivating a friend to pull themselves out of a dry trough – costs nothing but the embarrassment of being publically blamed for an offence you’re really and truly proud of committing. You know where I am if you need me.

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