Misty Zaugg's Blog - Posts Tagged "thoughts"

Hi friends,

I had to laugh this morning as I went downstairs and saw this for the umpteenth day in a row:


Yes, that's a dryer sitting in our entryway, and it's been there since last Saturday.

Procrastination is real, my friends!

And I'm sure many of you struggle with it, like I do.

I find that sometimes my thoughts will build up a relatively simple chore or task into a huge impossible task . . . only to discover that when I finally take care of it, it really wasn't too bad.

How does that happen?

It's part of the twisted/distorted thinking that contributes to depression and anxiety.

Today's story is an example of "Fortune Telling".

This is where you predict that the future will be very difficult or full of failure:

"Cleaning out that closet is going to take forever."
"I'll never make new friends, so why bother trying?"
"My kid is just going to keep screwing up his life."
"Discussing our disagreement is just going to make things worse."

and

"It'll be really hard to move that heavy, awkward dryer AND we'll have to clean out behind the old one first AND move the piles of dirty clothes that have built up AND figure out a way not to scratch the floor when we move it AND . . ."

You get the picture.

So what's the solution to getting your motivation back?

Talk back to the thoughts with something more reasonable, true and hopeful. Ex: If the family works together, we can install the dryer much faster. And think of how nice it will be to have soft towels again!

Test it:
1. Write down how hard you think a dreaded task will be, how long it will take, and how you'll feel when it's done. Use a scale out of 10 or 100.
2. Then do the task
3. Come back to your predictions and write down what actually happened. You'll likely find that it went faster and was easier than you predicted. And you probably feel even better than you predicted you would once the chore was done.
4. Remind yourself of the test results next time you begin dreading a new task and putting it off.

For more ideas on fighting back depression and anxiety, check out one of my favorite authors on the subject: David Burns

Stay happy and stress-free out there!

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Misty's Writing Update:

We finished and turned in Searching for Resistance, Book #5 in our Aftermath series last weekend! Now there's just editing and pre-publishing work to do. Woohoo!

This week, we've been outlining Searching for Victory, Book #6 - the finale of our series.

I can't believe we're getting close to finishing. All told, we will have spent almost 10 months on this project and have really enjoyed working together.

I love writing with Steph. She's an amazing writer and editor, so when we pass our chapters back and forth every day, we polish and hone the story until it's better than it could be if either of us tried writing it alone. Co-writing is the way to go!

I hope you enjoy reading our books and please share the link to the series with any of your friends who might have fun reading it!

Share the Aftermath Series

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

Hi friends,

I thought you'd enjoy a little insight into the author life in a busy household with a bunch of homeschooled kids. . . though more and more are moving off to start their own lives now. (Which is both exciting and sad)

So I spend a chunk of my day dictating stories onto a laptop in my bathroom.

Yes - I write in front of the window in my master bathroom. Don't judge. We have a big family and there are two . . . I repeat . . . two doors that separate me from the rest of the family when I'm writing in my bathroom.

Those doors, however, are no challenge at all to the princess and youngest in the house, my 6-year-old. She makes her way in to ask me all important questions the world or to tattle on her brothers every 4 or 5 minutes some mornings, which explains my slow writing speed lately.

However, she also sits and listens to me dictate and even insisted on dictating her letter to her older sister - she'll speak and I dictate it into my computer for Dragon to transcribe.

So, it was pretty funny when my oldest son called from college to report that the princess had tried to call him on Messenger kids. But when he didn't answer, she sent him a voice message:

"Hi . . . period . . . Can you call me please . . . question mark"

LOL - She's already got correct punctuation down for dictation. Watch out, you might be getting a story from her soon!

And thanks for everyone who's been checking out our new Aftermath series and even better . . . leaving awesome reviews!!



You're the best! Searching for Allies: Book 4 will come out the end of the month.
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Misty's Writing Update:

We started the third book in our post-apoc virus series this week! It is a bit of a head-wrench to switch from the main characters we've been writing for the last 9 months in the Aftermath series. A sad goodbye to Rita and April . . . though maybe kept accidentally typing their names a few times in the virus books - lol. Tired brains!

But it's so fun to get back to our old friends who've been waiting since 2019 for us to finish their stories! Kate is the older sister new doctor character who is trapped in St. Louis as the second wave of a deadly flu explodes and the major outbreak cities are being locked down. She's fighting to get home to her younger sister.

Meanwhile, Alisa, back home in small-town Ohio, is dealing with a violent conspiracy that is as deadly as the flu.

So, lots of action, danger and most important, everyday characters who have to fight through their doubts and fears to protect the ones they love.

Right up our alley and hopefully yours.

Have a great week and happy reading!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

Hi friends,

The summer vacation season at our house started with a bang! My sister and her family of six kids ages from 3 to 13 took the multi-day drive out to visit us for a week. The house was packed with fun and chaos: board games, park days and, of all things . . . bald eagles?!?

My brother-in-law did some browsing on the internet and found the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge just a few hours drive from us. He treated us to a boat ride with an awesome tour guide who had grown up on the river, poking into all its corners as a kid. He filled the three-hour boat tour with stories and fun details on all the wildlife there. We saw a beaver near its damn, a deer climbing out of the water, muskrats swimming, and tons of water birds including some beautiful herons.

But the highlight of the trip was the bald eagles. We took the boat down a side inlet with huge trees on either side and above us, so many bald eagles were flying and swooping into the trees. So cool!



Too bad I didn't have my zoom lens, but still gorgeous!

And this is another lesson to take more time to explore the area I live in. After close to twenty years here, I still had no idea this amazing preserve was within driving distance! :D

How about you? Have you discovered some hidden gems to visit where you live? And if this is your vacation season, I hope you're able to find something enjoyable and exciting to do with the ones you love!
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Misty's Writing Update:

We capped off my family's visit with a two-day trip to a waterpark for lots of slides, swimming and fun.

The house is now quiet again and most of us are catching up on sleep. LOL.

Do you have to recover from your vacations, too?

Next week, the outlining and designing of my new litrpg series starts, with the magic system, leveling, spells, and groups of elemental monsters high on the list for brainstorming.

Should be a blast!

I hope your June is going well and life is treating you well!

Happy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

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