Stop “What If-ing” Your Life: A Gratitude Practice for Writers Who Worry

From Edie: Learn how to stop “what if-ing” your life and worrying about the future. This encouraging post helps writers shift from anxiety to gratitude, take life one day at a time, and find peace and joy in the writing journey.

Stop “What If-ing” Your Life: A Gratitude Practice for Writers Who Worry

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt

I consider November the month of gratitude.

“But Beth,” you say, “Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November.” (Unless you’re Canadian. Then it’s the second Monday in October. Waving at all my Canadian writer friends.)

But I digress in a friendly kind of way.

I know Thanksgiving is officially only one day out of the 30 days in November. But I decided to spread gratitude throughout the entire month, rather than limit it to just 24 hours. 

Earlier this week, I ignored my laptop—and this blog post—and took a walk outside. Colorado pretended like it wasn’t November and offered me a warm day with clear blue skies. As I walked, I voice texted with a friend in the publishing industry. (I waited until I’d trudged up the long hill. She didn’t need to hear me huffing and puffing.)

We talked about what we were thankful for. Me? I’m thankful that this year I’ve learned how to take life one day at a time. Honestly, I’ve said, “One day at a time” more in 2025 than I’ve ever said it in my life.

When I’m saying, “One day at a time” it means I’m not muttering, “What if … what if … what if” as I look ahead and fret about the future.

We’re writers. If you’re a fiction writer, you often begin brainstorming your novels with the question, “What if?” 

• What if the woman who broke his heart shows up to buy his family’s inn? (The possible premise of a Hallmark Christmas movie, right?)
• What if a seemingly normal bedroom wardrobe leads to an enchanted land? (Sound familiar?)
• What if a young widow discovers her husband had an identical twin brother that she knew nothing about?(Yep. I used that one.)

But when we look at our circumstances and “What if” our life, we’re worrying. Matthew 6:34 (NASB95) says, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” 

Beth’s paraphrase for that verse: One day at a time. 

And in November I like to fill up those days with gratitude.

Life may be tough for you right now—your real life and/or your writing life. Maybe both. Focus on today, rather than worrying about all that could happen tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. “Each day has enough trouble of its own,” right?

But each day has reasons to be thankful too. 

Let me ask you the same question I asked my friend earlier this week: What one thing are you thankful for? I’d love for you to share in the comments. 

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Stop “What If-ing” Your Life: A Gratitude Practice for Writers Who Worry from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a  RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, released June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at BETHVOGT.COM.