Heard something this weekend from Andy Andrews. I have seen him speak twice and have twice been amazed at what a powerful speaker he is.  Something about his delivery is simply mesmerizing. I was in an arena with 20,000, and he created absolute stillness. And the really strange thing is that I would catch myself nearly in a trance, hopefully soaking up the words into my subconscious!

Anyway, back to my point. He talked about those things in your life that you want, that are good for you. They motivate you, inspire you, support you. They push you upstream, out of your of comfort zone, where you have to fight the current. Your muscles get stronger and stronger. Then there are those negative influences in our lives. They discourage, incite fear, and destroy. They derail you from your goals. They push you down stream, where the water does all the work. Your muscles literally atrophy.

But then there is another place in the middle, neither good nor bad. It’s a comfortable place. It is a relaxing place. However, what happens when you are in a river and you relax? Can you stay in the same spot? No, the current will always take you downstream, sometimes so slowly you don’t even notice until you look up and wonder how you got where you are.

That’s what a lifetime of procrastination, fits and starts, lack of commitment or lack of intention can do.

So what next?? We all know to eliminate the negative material and people from our lives. And to pull the positive ones closer. But look around you. How much of your life are you surrendering to the middle ground? To things that you are indifferent to? That don’t push you forward? That do not move you-physically or emotionally? Because every time you are numb, you are insidiously moving backward.

I am really going to think about this in the coming weeks because I know there are too many pockets of my life that leave me floating down the river. I sometimes do it because I think I deserve it. I’ve worked hard! I’ve checked everything off on my list today! I deserve to check out and let the water take me where it may. Some of my favorite ways to do so? A nap, a reality tv show, a Lifetime movie (no haters!), Bejeweled (especially Diamond Mine). Wow.

I need to treat myself better. I deserve so much better than that. My reward for a job well done, a long day of work, the solving of problem after problem should be the gift of a better life.

It should be rewriting a scene, reading a screenplay and trying to evaluate it, watching a movie in my genre as a learning tool-what works and what doesn’t? I should be attending a film festival (of which there are endless ones here in LA) and meeting people who know more about movie making than I do. I should call a fellow screenwriter and grab a beer so we can discuss our craft. The list goes on.

Let’s make a pledge that we will reward ourselves with what improves our lives, with what strengthens the muscles we need to conquer our goals. We deserve it!!