“Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this moment, are precisely the ones you need in your life at this moment.” – Chopra

You know that funk that you felt after going to camp as a kid? Where you had so much fun for a week or two, eating bugs and playing games and staying up late (and, if you’re Mitt Romney, holding kids down and shaving their heads), and then you had to go back to the real world?

I feel like that now, except I’m years past the camp age and instead of playing at camp, I spent hours and hours in conference rooms either scribbling madly in my notebook or logging my thoughts on Twitter as one of the semi-official conference Twitterers.

And now it’s all done — and by “it,” I’m talking about the Evangelical Press Association’s annual conference for editors, writers, designers and marketers working in the faith-based industry — and I feel sad. Well, not so much sad, but rather missing what I didn’t know I craved so much: Sharing ideas with like-minded people who are passionate, inspired and driven to excel at the powerful art of creativity.

A few things I appreciated about the week-long conference:

• It was away from home. I’ve been to a lot of training events and writing/editing conferences, and they’ve all been in a familiar city or within driving distance of my home. In contrast, this conference required two flights and was in a city that I knew nothing about. There’s something energizing and stimulating about being in a completely new environment where everything is unknown and even the most mundane task, like finding a grocery store, is an adventure.

• Everyone was open to new ideas, and were excited. The excitement was airborne, viral and contagious (just like Justin Bieber, probably). There were so many times that I got caught up in conversations with strangers and the next thing you knew, it was an hour later and we’d just shared these oh-my-lawwwd-that’s-a-great-idea-for-my-magazine-boooom moments. As we know, the industry is changing for writers, designers and editors — print is struggling, ebooks are giving publishers indigestion, readers are repackaging content via social media, and Kim Kardashian is still around. To keep up with these changes, those of us in the industry need to make giant leaps into strange, alien realms. And it was so inspiring being with hundreds of people making the leap with me.

• Speaking of hundreds of people, the human networks that I found myself immersed in were Narnia-in-my-closet magical. I know some of you are introverts and the concept of “networking” sounds about as appealing as kidney stones, but so am I! Introverted, I mean, not afflicted with kidney stones (knock on composite wood). Yet it was so easy to meet people, because we were all there to share our ideas and our souls. I made so many new friends: wise souls, young souls, souls that spoke so much truth and energy into my life. There were many moments where people said stuff to me that was exactly what I needed, whether it was about love, life or the pursuit of happiness.

If any of you have a chance to go to a writer conference, I would strongly encourage you to do so. The rewards are far beyond anything I could verbally explain. I feel energized and reinvigorated to approach the art in new ways, but more importantly, I look forward to continuing to build the friendships and connections I made.

No man is a failure who has friends! – It’s a Wonderful Life

1. There’s no “I” in “me.”

When they’re making a sentence, people often choose between “me” and “I” depending on how formal a sentence is. And that’s probably because they’re not quite sure which to use, thus making formality and tone the determining factor. However, it’s really quite easy. When you’re trying to choose between the two, drop all the other secondary subjects in the sentence. For example, let’s say you’re typing out the following sentence: “Jessica and I/me really enjoyed that Cirque show.” If you drop the subject adjacent to “I/me,” you’ll see that it really makes more sense to say “I really enjoyed that Cirque show.”

2. Not reading the Bible.

I don’t mean the Christian book. Every organization, publication, etc. has its own internal style guide. Maybe they’re Canadian and add a “u” to every word possible, or maybe they’re a crazy moon-worshiping religious nonprofit that wants you to capitalize “Moon” in every instance of the word. I instantly put writers on my no-cookie-for-you list if they submit copy that flagrantly disregards any internal style requirements. You don’t need to memorize a magazine’s style when you submit a freelance article, but at least try to get the major points right. It’ll help you land more assignments in the future if you add that extra attention to detail in the beginning.

3. Using jargon/complex words.

Sometimes, big and fancy words and technical terms are necessary. For example, if you’re writing an archaeology story, you should probably refer to it as the “Mamenchisaurus’ femur” and not “the big dino’s drumstick.” However, in 99 percent of the stories you write, it’s always better to use simpler, more direct language. Write for the reader, not your thesaurus or Words With Friends game.

4. Don’t be a punctuation punk.

Know how to properly use an em-dash. And a semicolon. And a colon. And especially an apostrophe. It doesn’t take long to familiarize yourself with common punctuation marks, and nothing makes an editor more frustrated than having to constantly fix your improper usage of apostrophes.

5. Not proofreading.

You’re a writer, not an editor. Sure, but you should still go over your work once or twice before sending it in. And don’t rely on spellcheck to be your proofer. A word could be spelled quite perfectly, but still be the wrong word if it’s in the wrong context.

Today, pledge to do more of what makes you happy and less of what makes you unhappy.

If you’re doing the same thing over and over, and wondering why you’re not filled with joy and radiating energy, you’re probably not doing the right things. Sometimes, the short term may bring pain in order to bring you long-term joy (think: a breakup, a move to a new city, a new job, a new exercise plan), but that should always be the goal: Every day, do what it takes to bring yourself to a place of greater contentment.

Switch things up. Take action. You have total control over your emotions, your life, your future. Don’t wait for others to fix things for you. Move forward, move on, move up.

Namaste.

Attachment to outcome disturbs equanimity, introduces anxiety, and thus increases chances of failure.

— Deepak Chopra

People are like lint. Or like that loose, errant end of the tape roll. We get attached — to things, to people, to situations, to stuff. But things change. Relationships end. Situations take unexpected twists and turns. And in the midst of that, any unhealthy attachments that we’ve developed can steer us toward choices that create pain, hurt and agony.

You’ve seen it many times: a coworker stuck in a dead-end job, or a family member overwhelmed in debt because they’re too attached to their physical goods, or that friend who just can’t seem to get over a past relationship (that ended three years ago). Helloooo, unhealthy attachment!

Unhealthy attachment often arises when we identify ourselves with something outside of ourselves. We get so attached that those external things seem to become a part of who we are. For example, “I am a [job title],” or “I can’t live without [girlfriend's name].”

As soon as something threatens to take those things/situations/people away from us — or worse, those things are actually taken from us — we feel threatened because it’s as if a very portion of our soul is being taken from us. A portion of our identity.

Even worse, our unhealthy attachment creates a fear that unleashes negative emotions and drives us to do things that create a cycle of stuck-ness. We start operating from a place of fear and worry about the future, always scared that something will affect whatever it is we’re attached to. And this in turn creates a constant cycle of discontent, worry, anxiety and chronic unhappiness.

So how to get yourself unstuck? How do you detach so that you can live in the moment, release the past, get over your ex, or whatever else it is that you’re attached to?

It starts with celebrating your self as a Self. Detached. Content. Pure. Powerful in its solidarity. Attach yourself to your Self. Recognize that no part of your identity is found in external things like relationships or cars or jobs.

From this place of contentment and peace, move out into the world. It’s okay to strive for a great job. Or try to get that dream girl. Or to buy that fancy car. But so long as you view these things from a peaceful, detached state, you’re able to fully appreciate them and honor them without stifling or suffocating them with fear, anxiety and  your need to control the outcome.