Since November last year, there has been a bottle of champagne sitting in my fridge that someone brought over for us from Europe. I was close to a book deal then, closer than I’d ever been, so my husband decided that we’d open the bottle when we finally had a sale.
That bottle’s still sitting in the fridge. We stubbornly refuse to open it, even though I’ve let go of my agent and at the moment, have no time to do anything other than work on running my business.
But every time I open the fridge, there it is, that damn bottle, reminding me of what I have yet to do. It’s a bit disappointing, sure, but more than that, it works as motivation. It’s sitting there, a reminder, not letting me forget how much I love that misunderstood little book that no one except me has fallen in love with yet. Every time I feel defeated enough and announce that I’ve given up, I don’t care if I ever get a book deal, I open the refrigerator door and there it is, the reminder that this is more than just about work and money, it’s about fulfilment and pushing hard for something I believe in, something that can make a difference in people’s lives. Something that while experimental, if given a chance, can be in groundbreaking territory.
It motivates me to get up every morning at 6 a.m. and start writing for two hours, no matter what. It allows me to find the time and the freedom to work on something I believe is important.
I think we all need that reminder every once in a while when work begins to feel like work, when all the inspiration and advice and solidarity in the world isn’t enough to remind us what brought us to love this writing life in the first place. I think it’s important that we leave notes for our future selves when we’re feeling high and on top of the world because there will come a day soon enough when we’re feeling like we’re sinking into a bottomless pit, and those notes from the past can remind us why we chose this, what made us want it so badly.
My reminder sits in my fridge, every day, waiting to be opened. What about yours?