A Reminder to Not Take Anything for Granted

I loved participating in the first and second write challenges. 

These contests were based on how many posts can a person churn out in 5 days. This made Parkinson’s Law work in my favor and made me write several posts in one go. The third edition of the contest required just one post per day – for a total of 5 articles. I had written 38 posts the first time, and 44 in the second edition. It should be a piece of cake to write 5, right? 

Wrong.

I was running a high fever when the contest started. I stayed home in bed, drinking lots and lots of water. The write choice contest excited me – this would give me something worthwhile to do while in bed. I could eke out posts on day 1 and day 2. It took me more effort than I expected. Energy was one thing I had in limited quantities, and writing (and editing) demanded a fair amount of it. 

On the third day of the challenge, my fever increased. My body felt like it was stampeded by a herd of elephants. I could not do anything at all. Lifting my little finger was a struggle. Getting up to drink water was a monumental achievement. Going to the computer and sitting down to write was no longer possible. The only thing I could do was lie down in bed and let the fever run its course.

I considered writing less than average posts to complete the challenge. I rejected this idea pretty quickly. I viewed this contest with a great respect, and if I could not put in a good faith effort to write a post, I should not write. It was as simple as that.

With a heavy heart, I withdrew from the competition.

I learned some critical lessons from this experience of falling sick:

• Good health is one of the greatest gifts.
• It is important to utilize time productively and wisely. 
• I should not take anything in life for granted.

While I do a reasonable job implementing the above takeaways, I relapse into less-than-desirable ways every now and then.

This post is a reminder for me to live life fully and productively, and not take anything at all for granted. And, Thank You Write Choice Contest! I appreciate you!