Sunday, March 1, 2020

Stuck in a bucket?


If you need writing (or life) inspiration, visit Pen and Prosper and meet Sporty King, featured on Jennifer Brown Banks' blog.

The one thing Sporty said that resonates with me is "Every word must have multiple meanings." I LOVE THIS!

For example if someone tells King, a motivational speaker, they have writer's block, he asks them to tell which block they grew up on...   Read more here: https://bit.ly/39dXGhk .



Charlie got himself stuck in a bucket. He was uncomfortable. My first thought was to rescue him. My second thought was of my late mentor Helen Rodgers. She told me if we rescue a baby every time he or she gets stuck under a table, we use OUR reasoning to ease his/her discomfort, and they can't move forward literally, or cognitively if we do their thinking. 

She did not mean we should never help. But we should first allow the child to do the reasoning.


In full disclosure, I showed Charlie how to tip the bucket, and he crawled out... and repeated the action. He leaned into the discomfort and moved forward. Does this make sense?

Brianna Wiest discusses how feeling discomfort can be a motivator. Usually we back away, rather than move toward that which makes us feel uncomfortable, and we fall back into old patterns.

Brianna Wiest claims, "If you don’t learn to tolerate discomfort, you’re going to live your life in fits and starts."

Wiest says, "You’re going to get an idea about what you want to do, or who you might want to be, and then as soon as you’re a few days into your new life, you’re going to revert to what you were. This isn’t because change is impossible. It’s because, eventually, reality kicks back in. You’ll encounter challenges, down days. You cannot coast on the high of an idea forever."

Wiest is right! 
"If you never learn to tolerate discomfort, everything— from small tasks to big-picture ideas— will end up unfinished." I urge you to check out these two prolific motivational writers. 

9 comments:

Sandi said...

"I showed Charlie how to tip the bucket, and he crawled out... and repeated the action."

Ha ha..again again! πŸ˜‚

So true about starting something new!

Kimberly Vernon Rodgers said...

You are so right. I've been stuck in a bucket, and thanks to the encouragement of you and other fellow writers, I'm tipping the bucket over and crawling out. Thanks for the link to Pen and Prosper. It looks like a great resource. I've bookmarked it to check back often, like I do with yours. Hope you have a happy and productive March.

Sioux Roslawski said...

Allowing kids to fail is very important. If we're always rescuing kids, if we're always making exceptions and excuses for them, in the long run, we are not helping them out.

Sporty King said...

Thanks so much for including me with another insightful writer and the chance to see the spirited comments. How timely that Charlie's Bucket rolled its way into your blog. High fives to how you always 'find' a connection.

And I'd love to add that even while watching the movie (with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) I began calling it a Living List... and enjoying them modeling what we all should - LIFE!

For all those who 'think' they don't like 'change' I offer that 'change' is just 'chaLLEnge' with an 'LLE' in the middle. LLE = Life's Learning Experiences, and they are way smaller than we give them credit for. Charlie's small 'trip' forward may one day have someone marvel at how he loves high diving. Cheers to you for adding that to his journey.

Val said...

I'm so glad that Charlie escaped from his bucket! He's more pro-active than I am. If I'm in a writing mood, I can work through a block. But I can't get myself out of a rut and into a writing mood.

Sporty King said...

Sounds like a GREAT blog topic! :-) I appreciate you for keeping the creativity flowing.

Kathy's Klothesline said...

You are so wise! I feel like I have been stuck in a bucket for several years now. Trying to write something really profound and meaningful simply escapes me since my Dad died. It is right there at the back of my mind, poking me on occasion, just won't come through. Teaching me? Patience?

Connie said...

Wise advice! Thank you for the link. Charlie is always learning, as we all are if we allow ourselves to do it!

Friko said...

I can’t think of a non-hurting way to tip the bucket, whatever way he does it he must fall over. Was there much lamentation?

Discomfort is the natural way of the world as we go along, teaching and being taught how to avoid its pitfalls is valuable experience.