What has simplifying my life got to do with writing my children’s novel?
EVERYTHING!
Up until recently, here’s how I was spending my days:
- Part time job as an assistant to a disabled teacher
- Teaching TRE classes (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises)
- Selling cards, mugs and prints in a local shop
- Selling T-shirts from my online shop
- Writing a children’s novel & picture books
- Jotting down ideas for books on flow and creativity (the irony!)
To be honest, I felt overwhelmed. My days were full. My attention was scattered. I was a jack of all trades and master of none.
And then, a few weeks’ ago, I was offered a place on the Golden Egg Academy’s Writing for Children & Young Adults course and I realised something had to give.
So…
I put my paints away (they had been sitting on the kitchen table, looking at me accusingly).
I told the shop I was going to stop selling mugs and prints.
I resolved not to take on any more part time jobs (my teacher’s assistant role had thankfully come to a natural end).
And I committed to three ‘essentials’:
- Finishing my children’s novel
- Teaching TRE / coaching
- Selling my greetings cards, like this one (coming soon to my online shop, fingers crossed):
MY BIG REALISATION:
If I want ideas to flow down my ‘mind pipe’ into my noggin, I had better make SPACE for them.
And CREATING SPACE in my life feels surprisingly good.
[Sigh of relief]
“When you let go, you create space for better things to enter your life”
Unknown
Katherine Bassford 