I’ve been thinking about what to write since I last published on June 20.
I suppose I have writer’s block.
It’s amazing how quickly the flow can stop.
I visited my family in Singapore for a couple of weeks shortly after I last published. I allowed myself the space to rest and be present.
When I came back, I allowed myself the space to settle in and adjust to our regularly scheduled programming.
All the while I kept thinking and thinking about what to write next.
I had ideas.
But none felt “right.”
So I told myself, it will come.
The distance from when I last published kept growing and growing. With it, the expectations did too.
I have this notion that the longer something takes to make / publish / launch, the more epic it has to be.
Believing this makes the next step frightening. All of a sudden, there is so much on the line. The thoughts, scenarios, reservations and questions flood my system. So I end up in idea purgatory examining and dissecting every option. But none ever seem worthy.
Expectation becomes a beast that grows bigger and bigger with each doubt it consumes.
I am left feeling overwhelmed.
So naturally, I don’t do anything.
I delude myself into believing, the idea will come.
So what’s the cure?
TAKE ACTION AND STARVE THE BEAST.
When you take action, there are less opportunities for your imagination to grow expectation. You have tangible outcomes and results to respond to. Not make believe ones that just take up space in your mind.
James Clear recently posed this question - “what if you stopped looking for new ideas and simply focused on the best idea you have right now?”
I am focusing on my best idea.
I am putting words to paper.
I am taking action.
I am moving forward.
Imperfectly, messily, vulnerably.
And that is enough.
A quick shout out to the magical mentor of my dreams who I recently started working with. She inspired me to take action when she reminded me to pour our words onto paper, release them into the world then put them behind you.
Essay 8/24 in Sparkle on Substack ‘s 24 Essays Club by Claire Venus
Hi Steph. I do brain dumps. Something will trigger a cascade of thinking and out it comes. Often I will comment on someone’s Substack post and suddenly realize my response could be the basis of a new post. One thing leads to another. Something the neighbor kid did. Something that happened on the way to town. A moose in the back yard. At this point, I’m sketching, so I don’t spend much time rewriting and polishing. It bogs me down too much to try to write the perfect story.
Happy to see you back! I've been in a similar situation in the past few months for a different reason (betrayal trauma). But I let my ideas fermented and then once I opened the floodgates, I couldn't stop, LOL! I think expectations and perfectionism are bed fellows. I often have to pull myself away from their spell. So glad you have a mentor and you are taking action 🎬 🙌