I hope that the wonderful bloggers who have been doing NaBloPoMo are not dragging – because you have reached the end! And oh, it’s been wonderful reading your posts every day.
I started posting every day (a complete change for me!) on November 8. I now have it in mind to post daily until December 8, so that I can at least say that I did a whole month of daily posts. 😉 So I’m not quite done yet.
In my regular day-to-day life, though, I am dragging. The time between Thanksgiving and the end of the semester is always a bit of a slog, and it feels even more so this year. Meetings filling up the calendar, stressed students making appointments to talk about final assignments, planning for next semester and next year… it all seems to come to a head at once.
The phrase I’m keeping in mind right now is, “The only way through is through.” So much truth in that short statement. So I’m moving through, getting through the days, and remembering that eventually, the current slog will end.
Do you have a mantra or phrase that you bring to mind in tough times (or, really, any time)? You know me, I love quotes… so if you have any to share, I’d love to hear them.
Have a wonderful Thursday, my friends.
The only way out is through! Amen! I am also a fan of “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” whether it is Nietzsche or Kanye or Daft Punk saying it… I think that sometimes the tough times are what shape us and even though they suck while we are in them, we often look back and see how they were actually necessary in some way. I hope that the rest of your year goes fast and you can sit back and relax and enjoy the holidays soon!
Thanks, Kyria. I am hoping for the same! A quiet holiday would be oh so very welcome after this insane semester.
Yay! I love hearing from you every day, so I’m glad that we get a bit more of it.
I feel you on the slog at this time of year, especially when you throw in end of the semester stuff on top of the pile. For some reason I’m feeling it less this year since the weather’s been pretty nice and we’ve had a lot of sunny days. But when it’s bad I literally count down the days until the solstice which to me is the turn of the corner.
I’m glad my daily posts aren’t sending people away in droves. 😉
The weather does help, for sure. And my mom focuses on the solstice, too (although she also says, in June, that the days will only get shorter after the solstice then, LOL). I noticed the other night that it might be a smidgen lighter around 5 pm or so?? (Wishful thinking?)
“Of things some are in our power, and other are not. In our power are opinion, movement toward a thing, desire, aversion (turning from a thing); and in a word, whatever are our own acts: not in our power are the body, property, reputation, offices (magisterial power), and in a word, whatever are not our own acts.” – The Enchiridion, or Manual, of Epictetus
The Stoics had it down, right? We use “of things” as a shorthand in our house to remind ourselves of what we can and what we can not control.
Oh, Epictetus definitely had it in the bag. For real. Now, if I can just take the advice therein…
I remember you mentioning “of things” on your blog, or in the comments of someone else’s blog (or, um, both?). I would probably need the whole sentence to keep myself focused, though. Reminding myself of the NOT part of the equation, too.
I love that reminder! Makes me think of “you grow though what you go through!” I always tell myself “you have enough time.” That is what I get in my head about.
Happy Thursday!
Oh, I haven’t heard “you grow through what you go through”. That’s a good one! Thanks!
That is one of my favourite sayings and I repeat it to myself a lot.
I’m very excited to be done NaBloPoMo. It was fun, but it’s also exciting to come to the end of an activity and be able to “check it off” a list – albeit a fun, hobby list.
I’d be thrilled to see daily posts from you until 8 December <3
Isn’t it nice to check something off? There’s just something so satisfying about that check in the box and/or line through the item.
And yes, I thought you also used “The only way through is through” (and you may, in fact, have done so during NaBloPoMo?).
Like I said to Birchie, I’m glad I’m not driving readers away in droves by posting daily. 😉
In tough times I always think of my friend Allison’s saying “There will be a time after this.” It has helped me immensely. Also, oddly, the Serenity Prayer. And Desiderata, although I don’t recite the whole thing to myself, just the parts that are relevant to whatever situation.
I love that saying, Nicole. I have since the first time I read it on your blog. Allison is a wise, wise person.
Desiderata is one of my favorite poems/writings/essays(?) of all time. I have loved it since high school. <3
“Run the mile you’re in” is a favorite running mantra, which also applies to real life. We cannot speed up time to make obligations go away faster, really the only way through is through… so I hope we can take it one day at a time whatever we have going on in our lives.
That is a good one. I also like, “Run your own race”, when I am trying (and not always succeeding) to not compare myself to others.