For years and years I’ve thought about how much I’d like to write. “I don’t have the time, the talent, the motivation” were some of my self-impeded road blocks. The desire was there but it never amounted to anything. I started to feel like a broken record, telling my husband how badly I wish I could get myself to write. My perfectionist ways were keeping me from even trying. I wouldn’t let myself sit down and write unless I knew it could be perfect. Problem is, practice makes perfect. Perfect is not born out of thin air. So if I never even started, how would I ever get better? Until one day I read somewhere…
“the imperfect project that gets created is better than the perfect project that never sees the light of day”.
So I finally decided to quiet all the voices in my head and just sit down every morning and write. Write anything. Just because I wrote it, didn’t mean that anyone ever had to see it. I just simply wanted to practice the act of writing every single day and see where it led. Whether I could allot ten minutes or an hour, I made sure writing was the first thing I did every morning.
I recently heard someone say…
“If you do anything every single day for 30 days straight, you will get better”.
I knew there had to be truth in that. How could you not get better if you practiced something every single day? That idea lit a fire in me. I had to try and see where it might lead.
35 days ago I started writing everyday. While I thought I had always been lacking the desire or determination gene, it turned out the ability to commit myself to an everyday practice was less about drive and determination and more about expectations. When I finally let go of what I felt should result from the writing and just started writing, the task became much more attainable. When I focused on the task at hand, just write something, anything, today, instead of “if you’re going to write, you should write a book” “or start a blog” I didn’t become nearly as overwhelmed. If you want to start running and expect yourself to train for a marathon before you’ve even figured out how to get down the street without getting out of breath than you’re setting yourself up for failure. The bigger picture can be so overwhelming sometimes that it inhibits us from even starting. Yet, if you just run a little everyday it will build on itself. One mile without stopping will become two and two will become three.
When you focus on the building blocks, instead of the finished building, the day will arrive that you have all you need to tackle that huge accomplishment. But it’s one step at a time, one day at a time, one task at a time.
35 days in of daily writing and it’s the longest I’ve ever committed myself to a daily practice of any kind. Thirty-six days ago I would wake up every morning and look at Instagram. When I floated the idea of writing every morning instead, I realized that with such a practice I would have something to show for my life every morning instead of just giving my time away and getting nothing back in return. I now have a list of 35 entries that just keeps growing. And when I go back and read some of it, I’m able to see that I am capable of so much more than I thought. I set my expectations aside and just started writing and now am beginning to see possibilities that I never would have seen 35 days ago.
these are the four steps that have helped me build the foundation to get me closer to my dream:
1. You just have to start.
You can let your thinking brain justify reasons to stop you all day long. You won’t get anywhere until you just START.
2. You must make it a priority.
If you think something is important to you, yet you never get around to doing it than you’re lying to yourself. “Action expresses priority” If it means something to you, you will make the time to do it.
3. It’s best to leave your expectations behind.
Give yourself a pat on the back for starting and have fun with it. Stop judging yourself and attaching expectations to your new pursuit. Be open to all the possibilities instead of trying to force a preconceived result that’s in your head.
4. Consistency is the key to success.
We fool ourselves in to believing we need talent, money and connections to achieve our dreams. While there may be some truth in that, sheer effort on a regular basis is what yields results. You cannot hone your craft or build momentum without consistent practice.
SO STOP THINKING AND GO DO.
Stop expecting to build the house in a day and start building a foundation.
Baby steps will still get you to the finish line.
Standing still will get you nowhere.