The ETSU community, especially current MALS students and alumn, are invited to attend the mini-conference, which will be held this Tuesday, December 6th, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM in the East Tennessee Room of the D.P. Culp University Center.
Come and learn about the interdisciplinary topics our newest MALS students are exploring. Refreshments will be served! For more information, please contact me at malswritingconsultant@gmail.com or Dr. Jill LeRoy-Frazier at leroyfra@etsu.edu. You may also see the flyer by clicking here.
I look forward to seeing you there!
December 4, 2011
December 2, 2011
Repetition
Yesterday I went for a mountain bike ride. During my fourth attempt to clear a rather technical section of trail, I realized something important as my bike stubbornly decided to stop on a short hill, the front wheel wedged between two rocks and the rear nestled in a pool of mud. While it's probably a bit melodramatic to call it an "epiphany," (I think it best to reserve that label for the really important moments, such as the day I came to know the wonders of wool socks), I can definitely say that a light bulb went off. You see, on my first attempt of this obstacle, I just sort of stopped right before encountering the muddy rock trap. Knowing that I had broken the cardinal rule of mountain biking - "keep pedaling, stupid!" - I turned around to repeat the section, only this time I pedaled like a madwoman. Well, I still didn't make it; the mud was just too thick for my weary legs to power out of going uphill. Ditto on the third try. As I crashed the fourth time, I realized that, while I had yet to clear this obstacle, I was in fact succeeding.
What dawned on me yesterday as I stood in three inches of mud is that success both is and results from repetition of good habits. I was succeeding because I was repeating with emphasis on what I was doing correctly. I realized that when we employ the patience, perseverance, and wisdom to repeatedly practice good habits, we are in fact succeeding, even when we do not achieve our desired results immediately.
The key is to not place all the value on the achievement itself. Equally important, I believe, are the many, repetitive attempts you must necessarily make that gradually move you toward the achievement. Only by repeating a task, while concentrating on repeating the good habits, will those good habits become more natural to you.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that this philosophy applies to everything we do, whether it be mountain biking, eating well, nurturing relationships, or writing. The writing process is nothing more or less than this repetition of good habits. While the first several attempts at any writing project might seem like they're getting you nowhere, the truth is that each brainstorming session, draft revision, and proofread help you become a better writer. Just as the most important part of training for a marathon is not the last 22 miler before the race, but the dozens of shorter runs you complete in the months before that final long run, the most important part of your development as a writer is the process leading up to your final draft.
Consciously practice good habits, whether it's in mastering Turabian documentation style, overcoming comma confusion, or adopting a mindset of identifying and integrating sources and ideas from multiple disciplines to approach questions in your academic and professional career. More importantly, be confident that this practice and repetition is success in and of itself.
Now go work on that draft!
What dawned on me yesterday as I stood in three inches of mud is that success both is and results from repetition of good habits. I was succeeding because I was repeating with emphasis on what I was doing correctly. I realized that when we employ the patience, perseverance, and wisdom to repeatedly practice good habits, we are in fact succeeding, even when we do not achieve our desired results immediately.
The key is to not place all the value on the achievement itself. Equally important, I believe, are the many, repetitive attempts you must necessarily make that gradually move you toward the achievement. Only by repeating a task, while concentrating on repeating the good habits, will those good habits become more natural to you.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that this philosophy applies to everything we do, whether it be mountain biking, eating well, nurturing relationships, or writing. The writing process is nothing more or less than this repetition of good habits. While the first several attempts at any writing project might seem like they're getting you nowhere, the truth is that each brainstorming session, draft revision, and proofread help you become a better writer. Just as the most important part of training for a marathon is not the last 22 miler before the race, but the dozens of shorter runs you complete in the months before that final long run, the most important part of your development as a writer is the process leading up to your final draft.
Consciously practice good habits, whether it's in mastering Turabian documentation style, overcoming comma confusion, or adopting a mindset of identifying and integrating sources and ideas from multiple disciplines to approach questions in your academic and professional career. More importantly, be confident that this practice and repetition is success in and of itself.
Now go work on that draft!
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