Life & Writing - Confrontation & Action

Today is the day of confrontation. Today, I confront my self induced writer's block.

I have been a fraud these past months. I have called myself a writer, without having written anything of even remote substantial quality. All creativity has been slammed into a wall of "no time," "too tired," and "I'll get to it." However, I obviously have time, I am not tired, and the self sabotage lies in: I procrastinate.

With all professions or "hobbies," one must set goals, a schedule or outline, and stick to it. The motivation, however, is often shadowed by what we call responsibilities. What we often deem as responsibilities are nothing more than excuses and self-martyrdom. What we dream of doing is sacrificed by what we estimate we need to do.

So how do we stop this self-sabotage and achieve the best of both worlds? Many gurus advise any number of "motivating" "success" steps. However, if you lack the ability to follow their prescribed guidelines, you need to develop your own, customized plan and be willing to let it change. That's the largest issue with the prescribed plans; they allow little room for deviation. And isn't that what writer's are, a bit deviant?

In the past, I employed a list. It was the "I want to do" list. However, I failed to make the "I need to do," which in turn would inspire the "How to do it" list that would later achieve the "I want to do's." This is a sad admittance because in order for me to create the latter two lists I have to admit boundaries and limitations, not to mention address all of those dusty skeletons in the closet. So, I find myself wrapped up in a disgusting amount unfinished business, unable to really achieve the "I want to do's."

Here's the plan.

1. Make the "need to do list." Creative or nuts and bolts, needs to be done list. And keep it basic and make sure that it falls into the needs instead of wants.


2. Make the "how to do it," and yes, I may need to be creative and ask for help.


3. Schedule Actions and stick to it.

A friend of mine is really into David Ramsey and his financial plan with "The Snowball Effect." This "effect" could be applied to anything, not just money. If you invest more of your time in the smaller issues first and less time on the larger issues, in theory, each issue will eventually gain momentum exponentially like a snowball. You continue to move on to the next larger issue (comparatively larger than the initial issue) until it's finished, and you keep going until there is nothing left.

Ramsey also recommends backup for emergency purposes. So, if we are applying his theory to life, what's the backup? I believe this involves networking. If you have closed yourself off for awhile, as I have, networking may begin by reigniting past friendships, getting into contact with peers/colleagues and then you can move on to new contacts. Having people around you keeps you motivated and if you are stuck, assistance.

David Orr once said:

"Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up."

I had always considered hope to be folly, I've "hoped" for years and years. I had it all wrong. I had assigned the wrong philosophy to the word hope: the "it will fall into your lap" philosophy. Orr's philosophy involves hope as an action.

Action it is then.