Desire, Dedication & Determination

When John Kelley (age 73) finished his 50th running of the 26-mile Boston Marathon he was interviewed by reporters. "What keeps you going like this?" he was asked. Kelley mopped is brow and replied: "I believe in the 3 Ds." "What are the 3 Ds?" "Desire, dedication, and determination," he replied.

How are you doing with continuing to write your history? Often when we first begin the task, it is easy – we are excited to start and have great plans! But as time goes on, it gets harder to continue our task, life tends to get in the way, and our project gets shuffled to the side. If you have not completed (or maybe not even started) last month’s task of writing about your Birth and Early Childhood, don’t be discouraged! Find a topic that interests you and begin there. Rededicate yourself to what you want to accomplish. Determine a specific time to work on your history. Incorporate the 3 Ds in your goal to write your history!

It might help to break the main topic down into separate "bites" or episodes. You can’t include everything that has happened in your life. In writing the story of your life, you are painting scenes, one story at a time. It is important that you write your history one episode at a time, one bite at a time.

It is not necessarily the only way to go about the task at hand, but I believe that doing it piece by piece has much to recommend. By focusing on one subject at a time you can bring forth more about you on that subject. Thus you avoid rambling across many other subjects that may deserve richer treatment that just a few paragraphs in passing. If you find yourself rambling, try this exercise. Place a title of your topic or episode at the top of your paper and avoid wandering away from that topic.

By writing your history in separate "bites" or episodes, they should each stand on its own. Therefore you can place them in any order that feels good to you, without the need for transition from one to another. When describing a particular stage of life, there are many "episodes" and experiences that you can write about. Don’t feel like you have to write everything in strict chronological order. It is better to tell the story about an incident, and then place it in the order you want among your many other episodes.

Another good reason for breaking your personal history down into parts is that you make it easier for a member of your family to read it.

Remember the 3 D's - Desire, Dedication & Determination! You can do it!