Megan Higginson/blog

5 Ways Zombies Can Inspire You

22/3/2017

What do zombies and I have in common? Sounds like a start of a bad joke doesn’t it? Or maybe a good joke, depending on your point of view. I've recently been inspired by Adam Wallace's book, 'Zombie Inspiration.' Once I could get past the gross stuff (you know, the rotting skin, mushy brains, and the gross jokes), I understood what Adam learned going through a zombie apocalypse. Why did I read Zombie Inspiration?

I've had a major fatigue flare in recent months (along with two pain flares from the end of November 2016 to end of February 2017) to the point that I was so exhausted I was having blackouts. (Fibromyalgia is throwing me something new). My doctor advised me to cut my hours at work from 12.5 hours a week to 8 and to take it easy. Well it's worked. No more blackouts. I still feel like a zombie, well, more like how I would normally perceive them; groaning, moaning, not capable of much.

How I've been inspired

I read a review about Zombie Inspiration and it prompted me to pick up Zombie Inspiration and the book turned everything I knew about zombies on their head. Here is what I learnt about zombies.

Zombies don’t quit.
They have a goal.
They focus on their goal and head for it no matter what the obstacles, or if they are missing limbs.
They are persistent and patient. They will crawl if they have too to get their goal. Which, of course, is brains.
They work hard to reach their goal.

Who'd have thought that you could learn so much from zombie's? According to Adam, ‘Zombies have a really bad reputation, but I knew that under the rotting skin, the mushy brain, and the desire to bite my face off, zombies are AWESOME! It's true! Zombies aren't just grunty-groany face-biters - I mean, they are that, but they're so much more as well! See, zombies do these amazing things we can learn from to make ourselves amazing too, like setting goals, focusing, working really, really hard and more.’

'See, zombies do these amazing things we can learn from to make ourselves amazing too, like setting goals, focusing,working really, really hard and more.’ Adam Wallace

At the moment, I feel like a zombie much of the time. My brain is often in a fog, dulled by pain, medication, and lack of sleep. However, I have a goal. I want to write. I want to share my stories. So, groaning, shuffling forward, my eyes ever fixed on my goal, I move forward. Nothing, not even utter exhaustion, or pain, will keep me from my goal. I sleep. I wake and keep going, one groaning step after the other. Instead of groaning 'brains,' mine is, 'Write story,' 'Write blog post,' 'Write!'

How can you be inspired?

And that is what it comes down to. In order for you to keep going when life goes to crap, you need to know why you exist. What is your purpose? What is your why? What are you passionate about? What are you curious about? Set your eyes on your goal and go for it, no matter what. As Adam says, 'take charge of your life, and go after what you really want.'

Have a great day everyone.

What can you learn from zombies?

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Smart goals and Fibromyalgia

1/1/2016

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2016 is on the horizon. As we approach the countdown for welcoming in this new year, many start looking back at the year that was, and peering forward into the future. Some can see achievements for 2015. Many can see that their New Year’s resolutions of 2015 were dead and buried by the end of January.

How did I go? Well last year I made a New Year’s resolution… not to have a resolution. Rather I decided to plan and make achievable goals. I focused on what was important to me and made specific, measurable and attainable goals… no matter how seemingly difficult; I did want to challenge myself.

I wanted to get into the best health possible. This is difficult for me as I have a chronic illness, Fibromyalgia. I might not be able to get rid of the fibro, but I certainly could get rid of the things in my diet that might trigger symptoms. I also wanted to increase my physical activity.

1) So coffee and sugar went out of my diet by the end of February. I had to ween myself off them. I occasionally had a cappuccino every so often until I totally cut it out. I cut out nearly all fat, and ate whole foods and foods that I had made from scratch. This was relatively easy as I have a lot of food intolerances and allergies. I just had to tweak what I was already doing.

2) Increase exercise: well that didn’t work as I already had torn tendons in my hip and leg muscle from late 2014. So I did what I could. Then I ended up with another torn leg muscle mid-year. They just tend to tear for no apparent reason, and when I am doing things like walking. My leg is fine now and I can walk around the block, take my dog for a walk again and work in my garden.

3) Take a writing course before the end of the year.

4) Continue to improve my writing by reading about writing, do creative exercises, write and receive feedback on my writing by at least two editors.

5) Send in at least two manuscripts to at least three publishers. The first by June and the second by November.

I was so pleased as I could slowly tick off each goal as they were achieved. Some goals have needed tweaking as the year progressed: 1) diet and 2) exercise. I also managed to achieve my other goals.

3. I took a Writing Picture Book Course through the Australian Writers Centre in November.

4. I had two editors look at one of my manuscripts and received feedback.

5. I sent in two different stories to different publishers by November.

The extraordinary and amazingly wonderful experience of achieving your goals is that sometimes, in the midst of just doing them, new opportunities open up. So keep your eyes open for new opportunities that may come your way that may fit with your current goals.
Recently the following two questions were asked of me.

What is YOUR goal for 2016? (This can be big or small – it’s your goal.)

My writing goal for 2016 is to write down as many of the children's stories that are floating around in my head as I can. That is if I can catch them and pin them down with my pen onto the paper.
What is the best quote or piece of advice for writers that you’ve heard? (Whatever gets you out of bed, to your desk, motivates you to write or reminds you of your love of words.)

So what are your goals for 2016, writing or otherwise? Feel free to share in the comments.

Happy New Year everyone!

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5 Ways Zombies Can Inspire You

How I've been inspired

How can you be inspired?

If you like this post, feel free to comment and share...

Smart goals and Fibromyalgia

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5 Ways Zombies Can Inspire You

How I've been inspired

​How can you be inspired?

If you like this post, feel free to comment and share...

Smart goals and Fibromyalgia

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How can you be inspired?