Us writers have got a difficult job.  Oh, I know all about the stereotype vision of sitting around in pajamas, drinking coffee and putting ethereal thoughts and prose to paper.  (BTW, if anyone is doing that very thing right now then be sure and post a comment)  For most of us though, we spend a lot of time peeking under rocks for some work, scratching our heads over a client request or waiting for some divine inspiration to lift our writing to our lofty goals.

Rocky Road Rigidity

There are some days when it seems like the powers that be are determined to throw every conceivable road block in our path.  Before indignantly shaking your fist up at the sky, have a look at the mirror and see if maybe what’s being reflected isn’t the source of the difficulty.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.  We struggle and wonder why we have been cursed.  From my experience I can tell you that a lot of times we’ve made ourselves miserable because we are too rigid.  Rigid in our beliefs and attitudes, rigid in our processes, rigid in our schedules.

In my former life I ran a paramedic school.  In addition to the obvious medical training, I had to teach my students about what the job really was about.  I had to try and instill a little of the street sense wisdom that I had garnered over the years.  I told them in part, that one of the greatest keys to their success was an ability to zig when they were certain they were going to zag.  In other words, flexibility is the key to success.

Flexible does not mean weak

Now, I’m not taliking about everyone being a mealy-mouthed, spineless jellyfish with no conviction.  I’m talking about having the clarity of vision to recognize that the path you are traveling is just too darned rocky, so it may be a good idea to choose a different path.  It reminds me of an old “Far Side” cartoon showing a raging river with salmon struggling to make it up a waterfall – on the far edge of the river is a cool-cat salmon with shades, riding an escalator.

I hope you can see how this could relate to your writing.  The inspiration for this post came from the comments on yesterdays e-book post.  When I wrote that, I was some kind of fired up.  My conviction was strong and there really was no way in hell anyone could have changed my mind.  Well, after reading through some of the very thoughtful comments, I decided I would leave the door open.  I didn’t flop.  I didn’t do a 180.  I’m just saying that based on input received, I may re-evaluate e-books in the future.

And that’s what I’m talking about

Your strategies for success, your methodology for getting things done all need to be up for grabs to a certain extent.  Recognize that in this fast and rockin’ world things are a changin’.  Refuse to get on board and you will surely be left behind.

How flexible are you?  Can you bend with the breeze?  Are you too controlling to be open to change?