I was thinking about Seth Godin and what he says about writer’s block.  He says he writes how he speaks, and that people rarely have trouble talking.  We don’t suffer from Talker’s Block.  There might be a silence or pause here and there, but conversation flows. 

For some reason, when there’s a blank piece of paper or a blank screen, the ideas evaporate.

And it’s not so much that the ideas disappear.  It’s more likely that we second guess them before we even start to explore them.

We edit ourselves before we start the creative process.  We kill the idea before we’ve even had a chance to articulate it.

It’s one of the sneaky ways that Resistance prevents us from getting things done. 

Sometimes it’s so hard to quiet that crazy voice in your head telling you that an idea is stupid or won’t work.  Most of the time, you won’t know until you try it.

I know this.  I remind myself of this all the time.

And yet, I still waste hours trying to muster the energy to write something or work on a project.  Because the chatter in my head is telling me that it’s futile.

Why is it futile?  Part of it might be because I’m putting too much expectation on the product or the result.

The only way to move forward is to ignore the chatter and do something.  Do the work.  Write the blog post.  Work on a scene.  Make the meal.  Play the music.

Just do the thing for the fun of doing the thing.

What astounds me is that I know this.  And yet I still get caught up and spin around in circles, getting nowhere. 

Every day is a new day.  And every day, I must remind myself to stop thinking about the result and focus on the process.

© 2021 Peter Gruner