Several years ago, I was preparing to write for my 7^th CD – If I Only Had Today.  While writing the previous six CDs – I followed a pattern.

Not the best pattern.

Certainly NOT a pattern that is effective or one that I would recommend.

A pattern, that today, I would work on eliminating from my life.

It was a pattern filled with questioning and doubt.  No sooner would I pick up pen and paper to begin writing, and I would question my ability to write.  I doubted whether or not I was a good songwriter.  I remember countless nights sitting at the piano in my living room and crying, doubting.  My kind-hearted husband would come in everytime and gently tell me to “Buck up little songwriter, you can do it.”

I repeated this pattern over and over.

But as I approached the 7th CD…I decided to take a different approach.

I was not going to doubt.

I was not going to question.

I was not going to allow the negative thoughts to have even a speck of space in my mind.

I reassured myself that the Lord had helped me write six other CDs and He could help me write a 7^th.  I wasn’t going to worry or fret or cry or complain.  I was going to trust and have faith and pray and have hope.  Whenever a doubt-filled, unbelieving, negative thought came into my head, I chased it away with a prayer.  I chased it away with words like, “You can do this Hilary.  The Lord will help you.  Just try.”  I turned it over to Heavenly Father and tried to be positive.

 

I had a Completely. Different. Writing. Experience.  I didn’t spend one night sitting in the living room crying.  (I did it in the kitchen – JUST KIDDING!!)  I didn’t doubt myself.  My writing improved.  I felt like it was my best work so far.  It seemed easy.  Nothing changed – except my attitude, the way I thought.  I simply refused to entertain the negative thoughts.  I had a plan of replacing them each time they crept in.

I look back on the experience of writing that CD and I feel happy.  I feel like two mountains were climbed  -

…a CD was created

and

…a pattern of doubt was replaced with a pattern of hope and faith.

It felt good.

Positive thinking feels good.

Its that simple.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 9th, 2012 at 10:47 pm and is filed under BillionClicks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.