Have you ever been stuck in a rut?
I’m guessing the answer is yes. Most people have, at one time or another, been trapped in a daily grind that no longer excites or inspires.
It’s like the time that my car skidded off an icy road and landed in a ditch. It was easy to fall into and tricky as hell to escape.
The big problem with ruts is that they can be deceptively comfortable. Life may be mundane and predictable, but it’s also familiar and safe. And it’s way too easy to allow familiarity and safety to mute our hopes and dreams.
Before the events of my story, I was so deeply entrenched in my rut that I lost sight of the fact that I was stuck. And, honestly, I don’t even remember how I got stuck there in the first place.
All I know is that I was moving through life without really living. I got up in the morning; I went to work at a job I didn’t enjoy, I bitched and moaned, maybe had a few drinks with my best friends, Meg and Jess, and came home to spend the night on my sofa reading my latest romance novel. It’s not that everything was horrible, or that I was miserable, really. I just lost sight of what I wanted and, okay, I believed on many levels that I simply couldn’t have it or didn't deserve it.
Once upon a time, I had wanted so much!
I studied English in college. Not the best choice of majors if you want a career, but I had this crazy idea of someday publishing a romance novel of my own. But, yeah, no one will actually pay you to write that story. Reality can be such a nasty bitch!
I fell into a career as a travel agent because I had bills to pay, and the daily grind made the idea of writing a book seem ludicrous. I was just plain old Lizzie Kincaid, after all. Who on earth would want to read what I wrote?
Better safe than sorry, right? A bad career that pays the rent is better than a risky one that doesn't.
I didn’t fare much better in the romance department. Did I want to find a good guy, get married, and have a couple of kids? Yup. I always had. But a couple of boyfriends who made me feel like crap about myself, and I gave up on that idea, too.
I watched most of my friends get married and start families. I played matchmaker for anyone who would let me. But me? I decided that romance just wasn’t going to happen. I contented myself with the romance novels that lined my bookshelves.
I felt like an observer in life, not a participant.
And I don’t think I realized it until a few surprises came my way.
Surprises that made me remember my dreams.
Surprises that made me believe that they really could belong to me.
Surprises that lifted me from my rut as smoothly as the tow truck pulled my car from the ditch.
Surprises that gave me the beautiful, full life I have now!
Now, I know, you’re all curious about what those surprises are, right?
And I’d love to tell you, I swear. But Lily would kill me and a smart character never makes her author angry!
So you’ll have to be patient. I swear it won’t be long.
I can promise you this – you’ll love my surprise(s)! I certainly did!
I’m guessing the answer is yes. Most people have, at one time or another, been trapped in a daily grind that no longer excites or inspires.
It’s like the time that my car skidded off an icy road and landed in a ditch. It was easy to fall into and tricky as hell to escape.
The big problem with ruts is that they can be deceptively comfortable. Life may be mundane and predictable, but it’s also familiar and safe. And it’s way too easy to allow familiarity and safety to mute our hopes and dreams.
Before the events of my story, I was so deeply entrenched in my rut that I lost sight of the fact that I was stuck. And, honestly, I don’t even remember how I got stuck there in the first place.
All I know is that I was moving through life without really living. I got up in the morning; I went to work at a job I didn’t enjoy, I bitched and moaned, maybe had a few drinks with my best friends, Meg and Jess, and came home to spend the night on my sofa reading my latest romance novel. It’s not that everything was horrible, or that I was miserable, really. I just lost sight of what I wanted and, okay, I believed on many levels that I simply couldn’t have it or didn't deserve it.
Once upon a time, I had wanted so much!
I studied English in college. Not the best choice of majors if you want a career, but I had this crazy idea of someday publishing a romance novel of my own. But, yeah, no one will actually pay you to write that story. Reality can be such a nasty bitch!
I fell into a career as a travel agent because I had bills to pay, and the daily grind made the idea of writing a book seem ludicrous. I was just plain old Lizzie Kincaid, after all. Who on earth would want to read what I wrote?
Better safe than sorry, right? A bad career that pays the rent is better than a risky one that doesn't.
I didn’t fare much better in the romance department. Did I want to find a good guy, get married, and have a couple of kids? Yup. I always had. But a couple of boyfriends who made me feel like crap about myself, and I gave up on that idea, too.
I watched most of my friends get married and start families. I played matchmaker for anyone who would let me. But me? I decided that romance just wasn’t going to happen. I contented myself with the romance novels that lined my bookshelves.
I felt like an observer in life, not a participant.
And I don’t think I realized it until a few surprises came my way.
Surprises that made me remember my dreams.
Surprises that made me believe that they really could belong to me.
Surprises that lifted me from my rut as smoothly as the tow truck pulled my car from the ditch.
Surprises that gave me the beautiful, full life I have now!
Now, I know, you’re all curious about what those surprises are, right?
And I’d love to tell you, I swear. But Lily would kill me and a smart character never makes her author angry!
So you’ll have to be patient. I swear it won’t be long.
I can promise you this – you’ll love my surprise(s)! I certainly did!
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