PMA!

PMA - Positive Mental Attitude!

You know what? You’re going to need one to finish the A to Z Challenge. At least finish sane and in one piece.

Yes, it can feel overwhelming. The list is huge and daunting. Your comment section explodes. All these new bloggers start following you. You realize you are falling behind with every aspect of blogging.

Your attitude will determine how you handle it.

You can grow frustrated. Maybe even angry. You tire of trying. Maybe instead of feeling overwhelmed, you are underwhelmed. You want to quit because your efforts don’t appear to be netting any results. A negative attitude takes over, and no matter what happens now, you view the situation through jaded eyes and a closed mind.

Or you can a positive approach. You take a deep breath, determined to take a proactive response and find a solution. No one is visiting your blog? You reevaluate your posts and set a goal to visit even more blogs on the list. More visitors than you can handle? Visit as many as you can and don’t sweat those you can’t. Regardless of the task or obstacle, you are determined to find a way to make it work and on your terms.

Which approach will garner better results?

Your attitude is all you can control. A PMA won’t make the problems go away, but it will equip you to better handle the situation. Choose a PMA whenever possible!

O is for ... Other Blogs!

What? I know I did something similar for L, but so what? It was awesome.

Now that we're over half way done with the challenge, how are you faring? So far, I have posted every single day except Sunday, and have visited at least ten blogs on the list every one of those days. It's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun.

Anyway, here are some blogs related to the letter O that I have been enjoying during the challange:

Michael Offut has been posting about Star Wars: The Close Wars, the animated TV series.

Oh Frog It! has been embroidering song lyrics.

Tim Brannan, from The Other Side, has been covering all kinds of monstrous topics.

Duncan, at Our Home Called Kuantan, has a nice series of Keep Calm.

Outside Perception had a lovely tribute to Boston yesterday.

Do you have any blogs you've discovered through the Challenge that relate to the letter O? Feel free to share them in the comments, and make sure to visit my five, follow them, and tell them I sent you. Oh, and you can find my blog here: The QQQE, if you'd like to follow me.

Neck and Neck - #atozchallenge

There are 26 laps on this alphabet track with 14 down and 12 to go. We've traveled far and wide beyond our wildest expectations -- of ourselves and fellow blogathon contenders. Many of us had to make pit stops along the way -- some to adjust and others to regroup. There were even some crashes (shout out to Stephen Tremp workin' that phone and tablet!) that caused a blog or two to spin out of control but many drivers on this track prevailed and remained on the leading lap, as a result.

It does not matter who is in the first, ninth, fiftieth or eight hundred and twelfth spots because everybody is aiming for that checkered flag, or rather -- badge, representing their survival through one of the wildest events to ever hit cyberspace. There's no one winner in this race to the flag. In fact, this isn't even a race. It's more like a multi-caravan cruise along the letters that link us together from different states, countries, time zones, viewpoints, hobbies, experiences and generations.

At times, some of us were way ahead of others while the rest was just trying to keep up. The ones who have perfected their visiting, posting and commenting down to a science have started just coasting along and riding their comfy wave in the winner's circle, but now...

We're all pretty much Neck and Neck.

So, let's keep it that way and meet each other at the finish line!

Your A to Z Challenge Co-Host,

Nicole @MadlabPost on Twitter
www.madlabpost.com