Defeating the Comparison Monster. Not a Stephen King word count, but I still #amwriting

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I wrote 4004 words for December. I still might have time to get in a few more, but my goal was 4000 this month. Woo-hoo for me! Whoa, damn. Stephen King writes 2,000 words a day. So let's see, tapping on my calculator shows about 129 words per day for me. Man, I suck. I'm way worse than Stephen King. Wait a second. Here's a Facebook post from someone who didn't write at all during December. I rock! I'm way better than them.

This cycle could go on forever, and it's incredibly damaging. I'm always going to be doing more than others, and I'm always going to be doing less than others. We're all living under different circumstances. My life doesn't look like anyone else's, and their life doesn't look like mine. My mind doesn't work like Stephen King's, so I can't write as well and as fast as him. But I'll bet he can't give a fabulous massage like me, or whip up healthy meals four times a week, take care of a feral cat colony, or do many of the other awesome things I do, as well as me. And he doesn't have to! That's not his life, so it's ridiculous to compare myself to him, like it's ridiculous to compare myself to anyone else.

Defeating the ugly Comparison Monster is my big goal for 2019.  I'd like to crank out three or four books a year, but if I can only do one or two, so be it. My real goal is to be happy, so I'm going to do what it takes to stay in that place. I enjoy challenges and pushing myself, and patting myself on the back when I do well, but I'm not going to make any plans because I feel the need to keep up with the latest trend or another author. If life changes, I'm going to adjust and not drive myself to exhaustion to reach an unrealistic goal, but I will recognize the difference between lame-ass excuses and good reasons.

Another goal, goodbye time wasters (sorry, Facebook and Netflix, we'll have to keep our moments together brief), hello BrainFM and Gaia.com (you guys keep me on track. Luv ya!). 

I'm sure I'll backslide now and then, but if I keep my eye on what's important, which is living every day the best I can, life will be good in 2019. I wish you peace, hope, prosperity, and a joyous start to the New Year!