Following the good advice of my friend, I ended last year and started this one with James Clear and his Atomic Habits . Not new, indeed, but there is a time and place for everything. And this best seller got me thinking … .
I have always wanted to be a good writer. Writing, much like reading, are therapy for me and when I manage to get into flow, it is one of the very, very few ways to shut down the world inside my brain and be just with myself. But the more I read, the more I realize that writing isn’t for everyone and I feel more and more like an imposter. So I give up. And then I miss it, and I start again. And I give up again. And I start again. I guess writing and life … two peas in a pod.
Over time, people I look up to and learn from have shared the way they feel about writing and that has helped tremendously. The reason I still write these blog posts is Seth Godin. One of the most prolific writers of our times, Seth does not believe in excuses for not writing. Over the past tens of years he has written one blog post a day, every day, without fail. Write something. That is his simple but poignant invitation.
And when I sit down to follow Seth’s advice, as I stare at the blank sheet of paper or the blinking cursor on a white screen, I freeze: where do I even begin? There is either radio silence or such an immense crowd of thought that I can’t even write one word down. And Annie Lamott comes to me with her invitation: bird by bird, dear one, bird by bird. The advice her father gave her brother who was crushed by a drawing project that he had postponed for weeks and was now due the next day. Oh, and how creativity hides far and deep in the face of pressure!
But what is even worth writing about, why should anyone care? The great trap of thinking we reinvent the wheel, that we ever write something that is brand new, that was never said before. When this trap opens up for me, I remember Howard Thurman’s invitation:
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Ok, but where is my muse? Where does the content come from. Well, I snatch it, then I hatch it. A while ago I discovered the energetic, full of life and good ideas, Marie Forleo. And it has been very hard to argue no inspiration since getting to know her work and listening to her encouragement. (The latest great inspiration I discovered belongs to another beloved author, Elizabeth Gilbert and her Letters From Love on Substack.)
As I am nearing the end of today’s thoughts I can feel my gremlins gathering traction – who cares about all this? Well, I do. Following James Clear’s advice, I woke up today and asked myself: what would a writer do? The answer is simple: a writer would write something. Today was a good day.
So, at the beginning of a new year in our lives, a reminder: decide who you want to be and then let your actions help you become that person. Good luck to us all!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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