Summary

The text reflects on the personal journey of a writer who lost a period of success and recognition, realized the futility of trying to recreate past achievements, and emphasizes the importance of evolving and setting new goals to build a better future.

Abstract

The author recounts a pivotal moment in their writing career, marked by the loss of a successful phase on February 4, 2020. This realization came much later, as they struggled to regain the recognition and validation they once had. The writer initially attempted to replicate the style and approach that led to their previous success, only to find themselves stuck in the past. The narrative then shifts to an epiphany about the necessity of moving forward, embracing change, and creating new perceptions of success and paradise. The author argues that past achievements serve as memories rather than blueprints for future success, advocating for constant evolution and the pursuit of new, more challenging goals. The text concludes with an encouragement to let go of the desire to recreate what has been lost and instead focus on building a new, better paradise through writing.

Opinions

The author believes that trying to replicate past successes hinders progress and prevents one from moving forward.
Success is seen as transient and subject to change, influenced by external factors beyond one's control.
There is a strong emphasis on personal growth and the importance of setting new, forward-looking goals.
The writer suggests that the true value of past achievements lies in the lessons learned and the memories they provide, rather than in their potential to be duplicated.
The text conveys a sense of optimism about the future, encouraging writers to create a new paradise by embracing new perspectives and challenges.
The author values the intrinsic joy and fulfillment that comes from writing above external validation like fame and fortune.

Self

Are You Trying To Achieve What You Once Had

A Modern Day Story Of Paradise Lost

Image by S. Hermann & amp; F. Richter Pixabay

I remember the day I lost paradise. February 4, 2020. It’s funny how, as a writer, one remembers little things like this. What’s really strange is the realization of when I actually lost it didn’t come until months later.

There was nothing spectacular going on that day.

For me, it was another day of waiting for a storyline to reappear in my head, another day of pouring my thoughts out on the page. The sweet elixirs of my recent series of successes were still fresh in my mind.

I was making progress, real progress after all these years of hard work.

And it felt good, it felt d*mn good.

Little did I know some faceless benefactors had made the decision to flip a mysterious switch on not only my success but a lot of my brother and sister writer’s successes as well.

No longer would we enjoy what we once had.

Perhaps you lost your paradise on that same day or a day close to it. Perhaps you never thought of it as paradise, but I did. As a struggling writer, the one thing I needed most was the validation I was accomplishing something. After almost a year and a half of solid, daily writing, I was finally getting recognized.

And then everything changed. It felt as if I’d suddenly become transparent, as if I’d simply disappeared. And for months I fought against the frustration every day searching for a single sign this paradise was within reach again.

I began to inspect every single piece which I’d used to build that paradise and tried my best to duplicate it with other works. For months after losing paradise, I wrote in almost the same style as those pieces, the same tone and voice.

This style of writing had gained me paradise once. It would do so again.

And then I realized I was spending so much time trying to achieve what I once had I wasn’t moving forward anymore. I was at a dead stop, spending time trying to replicate past successes and I wasn’t creating for my future successes.

I wasn’t trying to write from different perspectives, make different observations, try new things, or step out of my comfort zone. I was just looking back all the time, gnashing my teeth in frustration as each piece I wrote refused to gain me paradise again.

There comes a time when you need to realize the successes you’ve gained in the past only served their purpose for you, well, at the point in your past when you achieved them. If you constantly evolve, improve, and move forward, those past milestones won’t be there to help you much now.

Think of all those first, second, and third place ribbons (Okay maybe you’re an overachiever I get it. All of your ribbons were first place) of accomplishment many of us keep locked away in a scrapbook. What are they doing for you now except providing you memories?

It’s always about moving forward; striving for new milestones, different and more challenging goals.

It’s all about constantly shifting your perceptions of paradise.

I remember as a child being taken to the beach and marveling at the waves crashing ashore, and the wet sand beneath my feet. Everything was so big, so magnificent and I remember having an enjoyable time, a magical time.

But returning to that beach later, that paradise of my childhood from so many years earlier had certainly changed. My perspectives had changed. The beach no longer held the same childlike allure as it once did.

So that day I had to create a new perception of paradise. The paradise of my childhood still remains lodged in my memories, but it’s certainly not my paradise now.

Perceptions of paradise should change and evolve just as you do. Things that matter to you until you finally achieve them, should lose their luster, their appeal as you move through life. They should because your thoughts need to be focused on the future and the new paradise you wish to achieve.

I spent months trying to regain a paradise I’d lost only to realize that to achieve it again meant turning back on this trail I’m on and going back to a place I had already moved so far past.

I can’t do that. I doubt most of you can or are willing to do that.

So what choices do we have when we lose our paradise?

We can continue to do as I did for many months. We can continue looking back at our past paradises, attempting to regain something we will probably never need again.

Or we can work to build another paradise better than the last.

Just keep this in mind. Each paradise we dream of will ultimately be harder to create. But we’ve come so far haven’t we? Rather than go back and try to regain what we once had, doesn’t it make better sense to just enjoy that precious memory and set about creating another bigger and better paradise?

Of course, it does.

Fame and fortune will probably come only for the lucky and few. Most of us will never achieve either, and I’m willing to bet most of us really don’t want to. But each of us can create a paradise for ourselves. A time when we are actually proud of what and how we write. A time when writing fills our hearts with joy and centers us.

All we have to do is just stop trying to create what we once had and build better and bigger paradises.

Peace Out My Writing Sisters And Brothers,

Paul Gene Barnett

Thanks So Much For Reading

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