Tag: paradox

Trying too hard

It’s Sunday morning over very good coffee (Bub’s Blend, a limited edition coffee by L’il Bub; full of science and magic), and it’s a good moment to philosophize.

My topic: The seeming paradox of my weight loss. To fill in, I lost 63 pounds over a year and a half period eating a well-balanced 1350: 1500 calories a day, and then I stopped. My plateau has lasted for over a year, so I went to my doctor who referred me to a healthy lifestyles specialist. His words: “It’s possible that you’re not eating enough.”

I go to the specialist, and she has me breathe through this funky machine for ten minutes, and tells me “You aren’t eating enough.” She raised my calorie goal to 1633 (yeah, odd number) and reminded me I need to exercise, too. I have lost over two pounds in the past four days.

So let me wax philosophical: Is it possible to try too hard? That was my problem with my weight loss; although in my defense, I didn’t know that I wasn’t eating enough. I didn’t know that adding a little more nutrition would nurture my body.

So, in what ways am I trying too hard? That’s an interesting question, and one I think I need to ask myself about my writing. When have I edited enough? When can I accept that my work is good enough even if agents aren’t biting on it?

A very good question, and one I will be exploring…

The Inertia Paradox

I am into Finals Week in my day job here at Northwest Missouri State University. My schedule has already relaxed as I make it a point to get all my grading done before finals week, and my exams are multiple choice. For all intents and purposes, then, I’m done with the semester except for paperwork.

My summer will be much more flexible — I will supervise 20 interns, which will require visiting them, calling their supervisors at the beginning of the semester, and some grading, all of which can be scheduled at my discretion within reason.

I will have more time this summer. And it will make it harder to write. Does this seem like a paradox? Wouldn’t having more time make it easier to write?

As it turns out, having more time — or more specifically, less to do — makes it harder to write. We are all victims of inertia — a body at rest stays at rest. But inertia works both ways — a body in motion stays in motion.

During the school year, I am a body in motion — four classes, half a dozen interns, meetings, other committments. On a summer schedule, I have plenty of time to be at rest, with no timetable set for me. I can spend all day checking for readers on Blogger if I want. Therefore, I’m a body at rest, and without solid goals — more solid than I have in the school year — I will become a body at rest.

After this school year, which was one of the hardest I’ve had in a while, it would be welcome to rest. But not long enough that I become a body at rest.