During the summer holiday, my husband and I attended a book fair. We had lots of fun and met wonderful people, but the road to these experiences could have been easier.
Life is stressful and complicated already and I don’t know why I had to add to it. So, in this write-up, I want to draw your attention to things to avoid so you can seize the day, give it all you’ve got, and make it count from the word go.
Expectations
I had never been to a book fair before and I had less than a week to prepare. By Saturday night before the program, I had no clue about what to expect. Were we going to be given a stall, a table or display our books on the ground?
- I packed table cloths in case we were given a table or stall.
- I packed props so we could set up our books in case there were no tables or stalls.
- We made handouts, brochures and posters of books to display.
Mind you, this is a simplified list. By the time I finished packing things into the suitcases, it looked as if three people were going on a long holiday.
Ready or not, here I come!
At about 10:00 PM on Saturday night, I was still thinking about what needed to be packed ‘just in case.’ It got to a point where I told myself, “Ready or not, here I come.” When you get to that point you know that you’re ready to seize the moment, give it all you’ve and make it count.
After deciding that the preparation process was enough, I felt at peace, confident, and ready to handle whatever might pop up!
Guess what? We used less than a quarter of the things I had packed.
Good news, the fun, the people we met and my booking signing experience made our day; and took away the stress of planning and the feeling of anger about having wasted precious time busying myself over things that really didn’t matter. You can find my book Beth and Ardie Go To Story Island on Amazon.
Things to avoid
Looking back, it is good and advisable to plan and prepare very well, but over planning and preparation and over thinking have their own problems. They can sap your energy, peace of mind, bring anxiety, stress, fear … and so on.
There’s a time to decide, “Ready or not, here I come!” I’m going to seize the day or moment and make it count.
As you prepare to return back to school, dare to give things a go even when you don’t have everything worked out.
Have a great school year.
Take care until next time.