I am by nature a very curious person, perhaps to a fault.
Will the dog’s cone of shame fit on a human? By gosh, it does! It’s also harder to get off a human head than it is to put on. Who knew?
What does this taste like? The dog sure seems to like it; let’s try it.
Do car keys really fit in a wall socket? Why, yes, they do! (Based on personal experience, I don’t recommend doing this)
By being so curious I love to try things out, get creative, and make mistakes, sometimes big ones. Regardless the outcome, I’m always learning something new.
Some people believe that there are no mistakes… only opportunities to learn something new if willing to look for it.
I’m one of those people.
Remember the snow blower post about me “fixing” it and making gasoline shoot out of the primer button? I learned a heck of a lot more about how that carburetor works as a result.
Sure, change can be scary because it could mean failing.
2015 marks my 14th year living in Maine.
I hear things from others along these lines:
“Oh, you moved to Maine from Mississippi because you had family up there?”
Me: “No, no family.”
“Friends?”
Me: “No.”
“You moved all the way to Maine and didn’t know anyone?”
Me: “Correct.”
“What? That’s crazy! Why in the world would you do that?”
I didn’t know how living in Maine would work out. I just wanted to move. I wanted to go to grad school for ecology and leave the nursing profession in the dust. I wanted a white Christmas, and I wanted lots of change… culture change, environmental change, kick me out of the same time zone as my parents to see if I could truly survive on my own change, etc. I got everything I wanted and then some.
All that change means lots of learning. I’ve learned how to survive Maine winters (lots of mistakes made with that process). I’ve learned my favorite spots to go during a Maine summer. I have my favorite places for fall colors. I LOVE snow… didn’t know that was possible, but it is. Maine is full of amazing people so much so that I have extended family here now.
Maybe the change will result in failure. Maybe it won’t. Either way you’re bound to learn something.
Writing a book is no different than playing with the dog’s cone of shame. There is a lot to be learned regardless of what you’re doing. Maybe the book will be crap. Maybe it won’t. The first draft of The Monster Within was very poor. With lots of continued work and learning, it got better. Failing and learning, don’t run from this process. It’s not a monster that will destroy you. Change means learning. Failure means learning. Both are very good things.
Image by me, of me, goofing off during a power outage and wearing the dog’s lamp shade. 2014.
