Life Lessons—It's Impossible! So What?

by Reba J. Hoffman, Ph.D

I decided to take a jaunt to Central Florida before heading west again so Dakota and I took off for places Mickey Mouse-ish.

Heading south was a marvelous adventure. Turning back north again made me question my sanity.

I left Orlando early Tuesday morning just as the sun—and a billion rush hour commuters—ushered in the day. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and I didn’t have a care in the world.

After several hours on the road and lunch at a strange little local eatery, I left civilization and entered the Ocala National Forest. I’ve ridden through its remote back country roads before… in a car.

Suddenly, the skies darkened and I had just enough time to whip out my rain gear before it dumped buckets of water on me. Only raining cats and dogs would have been more ominous.

Several miles later, I found a place to pull under for shelter. When the rain lessoned somewhat, I called the campground to get the gate combination since I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it before they closed.

To my horror, I got a recorded message:

“Due to the government shutdown, we are temporarily closed.”

I was mortified!

I had to double back to civilization and find a cheap little motel room for the night. Though I was warm and dry, I knew I would be faced with a very long ride the next day.

Okay, it was an impossible ride the next day. A hundred miles over rolling hills carrying fifty pounds of gear!

As I sat at the Castaways Bar and Grill eating dinner, I said to myself, “It’s impossible! So what?”

The next morning, I packed my gear and headed out on my impossible bike ride. Yeah, it was impossible to ride 97 miles but you know what? I pedaled each mile fully loaded and reached Jacksonville right at dark.

I know you may be facing your own century ride in your writing life. You may be thinking it’s impossible to finish that rough draft or to complete those galley edits.

Yeah, it’s impossible! So what? Just like I did on Wednesday, you have in you just as much as it takes to muscle your way to your goal. It won’t be easy. You’ll get tired but oh the joy when you get where you want to be!

So sit down, settle in and write that impossible story. Yeah, today. Right now in fact. I’m finished here anyway.

What impossible task do you have in front of you? How are you planning on pedaling through it? Share it here!

Reba J. Hoffman is the founder and president of Magellan Life Coaching (www.magellanlifecoaching.com). She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling and is a natural encourager. She serves as Member Care Coach for My Book Therapy and is the author of Dare to Dream, A Writer’s Journal. You can connect with Reba through her motivational blog, Finding True North, or by email at reba@magellanlifecoaching.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @MagellanCoach.