How to Improve Your Strength, Determination, and Endurance

Image Copyright © 2014 Joan Y. Edwards

"How to Improve Your Strength, Determination, and Endurance?" by Joan Y. Edwards

When I taught at Hemby Bridge Elementary School in 1988, a teacher shared with me Bjorn Secher's handout about your attention and how it was the key to your success. This was one of the many helpful statements on that handout. 

Bjorn Secher said, "The secret to your strength, determination, and endurance is your attention."
Copyright © 1988 BSAS  Bjorn Secher Achievement Systems.

To improve your strength, determination, and endurance, control your attention. Ask yourself or your characters these questions.

• What gives you strength?
• What makes you more determined than ever to keep on going?
• What gives you so much encouragement that 50 obstacles do not stop you. Each obstacle seems to make you even more determined not to give up?
• What keeps you alive and helps you endure when others in your same shoes bit the dust years ago?

Not everyone's answers are the same.

My mother, Ethel Darnell Bruffey Meyer, said many witty things. Here is one thing she used to say: "If all the women in the world liked my Johnny, there would be a lot of hairless women running around."

What sparks a woman to say something like that? Love, jealousy, confidence, and determination plus physical, mental, and emotional strength.

• Physical strength comes from using your body in exercise or in work using your muscles.
• Mental strength comes from using your brain to think. 
• Emotional strength for endurance comes from self-confidence, love, and support of others and successful experiences and accomplishments.

I believe that God is the source of all energy. Energy comes from the sun, from an electrical power plant, and from every cell in your body.

You become what you give your attention to - attention is thoughts, words, and actions.

 

Where do you focus your thoughts? On your bad experiences or on your good experiences? Choose to focus on what you want as if it is already true now beecause what you focus on will become your reality.

Where do you focus your words? What kind of words come from your mouth? Pay close attention to the words you speak. They are powerful. They speak your present and your future. They let you know your emotional interpretation of people and events.

Where to you focus your actions? 

Joel Osteen said, "Do what you can and God will do what you can't." 

If the key to reaching your goals is down the street three miles, you might not get it unless you walk, ride, or fly there. Take the action that bubbles up from your heart, your "gut" feeling. Your belief in yourself and your goal will give you physical, mental, and emotional strength to "git her done" as Larry the Cable Guy would say.

Just keep on going, even though your humanity takes you on a few detours along the way, revamp your focus, run a video in your mind of you crossing that three-mile marker to find the key to your goal.

Please leave a comment. It makes me smile to hear from you. Good luck in reaching your goals.

Celebrate you.
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards

Copyright © 2014 Joan Y. Edwards

Flip Flap Floodle, delightful picture book that teaches children to believe in themselves and Never Give Up - even mean ole Mr. Fox can't stop this little duck.

Joan’s Elder Care Guide, Release December 2014 by 4RV Publishing

Website/Twitter/Linked in/Facebook Author Page

Joan's Never Give Up Blog

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In the Beginning

The beginning of your story, whether it is a short story or a novel, is the most important part of your book. It is where you hook your reader, and hooking your reader is a definite must. Many a book has been laid down only to never be picked up again because the reader found the first page or two to be boring.

You can have the best character ever created, but you need to get that character into some type of action that will grab and hold onto the reader's attention. He/she needs to be hungry for more and more of your story. So you need to choose an opening action that can be built upon. According to Chris Roerden in Don't Murder Your Mystery, "Caring about the main character is the ultimate hook." This is so true because you can build upon this in so many ways.

The reader needs to identify with the character's feelings, and there must be contradictions of some type. It is good to introduce the main character as quickly as you can into the story. The reader should wonder about who, what, when, where, how, and why. Curiosity will keep them reading. As the author, it is your duty to keep their curiosity going throughout the whole book until the end where you will satisfy and answer all their questions about the story and the main character.

Even though it may be necessary to include backstory and description, these can be added later in the story and must be kept to only what is needed to satisfy your reader's curiosity. Backstory can be worked into the action, adding more interest and adding fuel to the reader's interest. Adverbs and adjectives must be minimized also.

So what is the best hook? One that can be built upon? The main character, of course, and the problems with which he/she will be faced. Remember, the job of a hook is to stretch the reader's interest beyond the first sentence; and if the author does it right, the reader's interest will go well beyond the first chapter.

Which of the following would grab your interest?

It was a dark and stormy night.

Or?

Maggie's hands gripped the gun as she looked down the barrel at the fear in the eyes of the man who raped her.

Faye M. Tollison
Author of To Tell the Truth
Upcoming books: The Bible Murders and Sarah's Secret
www.fayemtollison.com
www.fmtoll.wordpress.com
www.fayetollison.blogspot.com
Member of: Sisters In Crime
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