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Showing posts from January, 2010

Being a Writer: Focusing On Something Other Than Fear by Avantika

Whenever people say to me, “I am too scared to do what you did,” I am always amused. I smile and give a cryptic answer like, “Well … that’s life, I suppose.” Then, if the conversation continues and I’m asked to explain a little more, I change the focus of the tale and tell them the about race car drivers: it is said that when you are behind the wheel of a race car, one of the first lessons you learn is that you need to focus on where you’re going, not the fear. So, when the car begins to spin, you must control yourself and not turn to look at the wall that you’re sure you’re heading towards. Instead, you must focus all your attention on where you want to go. I always end the story with, “That’s what I did. I focused on where I wanted to go.” I’d say, about half of the people I tell this story to understand what I’m saying and the other half smile politely and walk away. Which category do you fall into? Perhaps, for this first post, I can go a little deeper into how I came to focus