Monday Mirror 3: Never Giving Up

Guess Who’s Back?

Greetings and salutations to the OG ‘Mirrorheads’! Welcome aboard to all the newcomers, this is Written Mirror and I am Jay Mullings. You’re in safe hands, I promise to be gentle. I’m a week behind so if you’d excuse me for just a moment; please follow me as I present Monday Mirror 3…

About Last Week

There were a few (endless) technical difficulties that kept the last two posts for November from being released on time. My sincerest apologies for that and thank you to everyone who queried about Mirror Monday and Written Wednesday. It seems to have struck a chord in its maiden month. For all the great new YouTube subscribers’ thank you for reinforcing the Written Mirror ranks. It may not seem like much but I’m grateful to be over the 50 mark on my new content journey.

Never Giving Up

Sounds like the title of a reboot for those fight movies that came out a few years back. Still I think there is something about magical 3 word mantras. Upon closer inspection you will notice I used the word ‘GIVING’ as opposed to ‘GIVE’. Why? Because innit! Just playing, it’s really because the process is never finished. It’s easy to say, “Never Give Up!” It sounds correct and absolute enough sure; but at one point or the other we all feel like ‘GIVING’ up on things. Never Giving Up is about the constant journey we must go through to reach the ultimate goals we seek. It evolves and goes through varying peaks and troughs.

Why Are We Talking About This?

The year is nearly finished and a lot of us are probably falling short of the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of it. Heck let me share some of mine.

• Increase my visibility on social media (NOPE)
• Gain at least 5K followers on each platform (HAHA)
• Successfully launch The Thought Book 2 (KINDA)
• Release my film The JAM! in time for Black History Month 2018 (FAIL)
• Successfully launch the Written Mirror branded merchandise (SORTA)
• Make at least one appearance on TV/Web to speak about my values and creative vision (MAJOR FAIL)

All big ambitions and almost none of which have gone to plan. Yet still (you guessed it) I’m NEVER GIVING UP! A lot of the why things have not gone to plan has been way beyond my control and as such I have a choice to make; cry woe is me and that the universe hates me or I can brush that off and start owning what I can control. December isn’t finished yet and I am going to get as close as I can to each of my goals or set up a pathway for achieving them in the New Year. Now does this sound like the mindset you always adopt when things go off script?

Put In The Work

Not to sound omnipotent or anything but from my point of view, all we can do is the best we can and watch the chips fall where they may. If you’ve put forth your very best the result is still not completely under your control (in situations where external factors play a part) and as such you cannot let the weight of that knowledge crush you.

Failure can be such a blessing if you heed its precious lessons.

What Lessons Have You Learnt?

I’m so glad you asked! I have recently emerged from the Lazarus pit and while it may have maddened a few in the past, I realized that turning a brand new leaf and getting the ‘Improved’ best you can from your mindset, work ethic, information gathering techniques and appetite for risk is how you mitigate against things going dangerously wrong in the future.

Never

What I try as much as possible is to avoid feeling like nothing ever goes right. A lot does and still it is subject to external factors, which ultimately determine what floats or sinks. Should I beat myself up for doing good work? No never!

Writing a really well delivered screenplay and not winning a particular festival or award. Does it now mean I am a horrible writer and destined to be a loser? No never! You do the best you can while you can; let the results figure themselves out…

Giving

Just because you have these goals and ambitions, doesn’t mean you can’t take the time out to do other things. If you had a new interest that took you away from your goals this year it could still have benefit. I re-integrated photography into my regimen and it has sharpened my eye where it pertains to video. That is a skill for life and it was worth the tinkering time. The joy it brought to friends and family was rewarding. Also it gave me a chance to sandpit away from my filmmaking tasks. Things I could play with on a photo I can now think about for my film. Giving your time to other things has a way of rewarding you down the line.

Up

The year as we all know is nearly finished. There is only one way to see it out and that is on the up! Do what you can within reason to make the transition from 2018 into 2019 as smooth as possible. Speaking of transitions, if you haven’t already, check out this video I uploaded last week. That was a smooth transition I know! Please feel free to like, comment and most of all subscribe + share.

Thank You

I want to thank everyone who has shown love to the new Written Mirror blog theme. There is still a way to go, but I hope to continue to bring you satisfying and thought provoking content. Monday Mirror every Monday and Written Wednesday every Wednesday. Until next time, oh just wait a sec! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE PAGE! The Journey to 1000 subscribers needs you!

About Jay Mullings

Multiple Award-winning Screenwriter, Author, Blogger, Film Director and Founder of Written Mirror Ltd. Jay is an ambitious but humble creative who wants to connect with audiences all over the world. Born in London but raised in Jamaica, Jay carries his experiences of both cultures and lends it to his work with his unique but authoritative voice which, he admits not seeing represented enough growing up.

Enquiries…

I can be reached for serious comment and article contributions via email jay@writtenmirror.com if it’s a formal request. There will be no tweeting from me for the rest of the year @writtenmirror (returning Jan 2019) so please don’t contact me via twitter if it is urgent. Instagram @writtenmirror if need be.  For any public speaking opportunities kindly use the above mentioned communication methods.