By Dawn Onley

Focus on the story, not the sentence.” – James Patterson

Our lives are made up of a whole bunch of sentences. Some phases of our life story are long sentences, while others are short. Some are funny and others are dreary. Some sentences are fragments in need of repair. Resist the urge. Don’t fix it. Let it stand.

These sentences form paragraphs and these paragraphs form pages and these pages form chapters, and so forth. They all come together to tell the story of our lives.

All of it – the joys and triumphs, the heartache and gloom — is vital to who we are and who we are becoming. We don’t particularly enjoy the periods when we struggle or fail. We could probably do without the sadness or the moments of unrest. But neither you nor I would be the person we are today without every last word of our story.

The key is not to stop at the tough sentences. When we feel like giving up, we need to push through the hard times, through the long stretches to get to the other side. There is light after darkness. It is called dawn.

If we focus on our stories, instead of the sentences, it gives us context and a broader view. Failures are no longer isolated and rehashed, they are interwoven with successes and together, they form a masterful union that is worthy of the miracle of your being.

Keep writing your bestseller. Don’t stay stuck on any sentence. There’s too much life to live. There’s a better chapter ahead.