When I was 8 years old we moved to Munich, Germany from Dallas, Texas, where if there was even a light dusting of snow on the ground, school was cancelled. That year I remember that I stood 4 feet, 4 inches tall and overnight it snowed 4 foot 6 inches. I woke up delighted at the thought of a mega snow day. Much to my surprise this was only the first snowfall of many to come.
My mother wrapped me up in a massive down coat and goofy looking moon boots and pointed me towards school. The task of getting from my home to school in snow that was taller than me seemed impossible. Not only could I not see in the blinding white snow that blanketed everything, but I had also never attempted to move while dressed like the Goodyear tire man.
Step by step I pushed my way through until I found a tunnel created by those who had gone before me. In some places, mini avalanches threatened to bury me in a great white fluffy mound.
I couldn’t see where I was going, but I faithfully moved forward until much to my surprise I reached the school. The moon boots my mother had bought me, which I had never before seen a need for, were now my most prized possession. The coat, hat, mittens and scarf which all seemed excessive when my mother insisted that we purchase them months before snow ever arrived, would be my wardrobe for years to come.
When my mom said it snowed in Germany, I imaged a light dusting that blew into mini-tornados like the dust devils of Texas. She came from North Dakota; she knew how to prepare.
When I found my way to school through the wall of white, I learned two simple lessons: prepare for the unimaginable and you can reach an unseeable, seemingly unreachable goals one step at a time going in a forward direction.
In November I had a giant goal in front of me. A literary challenge of epic proportions: 30 days, 50,000 words, and one original novel during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.) And I did it! I am officially a NaNoWriMo Winner! I started out strong and then hit a long plateau. By day 25 I was deep in the tunnel and could not see the words “The End” anywhere in sight. There were plenty of excuses including my own respiratory battle, kid sickness, a trip out of town, Thanksgiving holiday, and day to day life.
On Day 26 I started moving again towards my goal and one step at a time moving in a forward direction I made it!
What goal would you like to reach in 2013?
[…] Trust me, you can do it….it just takes focus on the right things. All you can lose is some sleep. Last year I wrote 51660 words during NaNoWriMo. You can read about that experience here. […]