Writing note: I originally started this post in June of 2017, revised it in June of 2020 and am finally publishing in July of 2022. Apparently, I’m still tangling with this beast, but the writing – it’s still lighting me up.
My mom, a musician since the age of five, embodies the myth of overnight success. Whenever she sits down to play, it looks effortless. Very few people see the hours she’s put in on the bench. And on the days that she feels resistant to her piano practice, she tells herself to sit down for just fifteen minutes. This gives her the mental “out” that allows her to relax; often after those fifteen minutes, her resistance is gone, and she has dropped into the work. Sometimes her best sessions are on the days of deepest avoidance. It is all about consistent practice.
A few years ago, I decided to set myself a daily goal of writing five hundred words. Yesterday, it was so easy. In thirty minutes, 500 good words. Today, not so much. I keep getting up to do things, then making myself sit back down until I reach this self-imposed finish line. So many ways that the mind has devised to get around commitment!
Conscious Decisions
Listening to a podcast with Jeff Goins (writer) encouraged me to commit more deeply to writing. He was talking about mindset – that of an amateur versus that of a pro. A significant change for him in his writing occurred when he consciously decided that he was a writer – whether or not he ever was published. He had been hesitant in naming that as his dream, as many of us are when we are striving to name our own.
I have been on a similar journey, one that has taken awhile to unfold. I now believe in the power of incremental change – my practice and consistency are producing results. I have been writing and blogging since 2012. 10 Years! When I began, there was so much that I felt uncertain about. As I continued, my writing voice emerged, and by continuing the practice, there is now a significant body of work – over 100 pieces of content on this blog alone. It took some time to commit to the idea of being a writer. And there are days I don’t write, when I don’t meet my goals. It has been a journey of meeting myself where I am, embracing my unconventional and eclectic self. My goal now is to continue writing from the heart, consistently.
Success Factors
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the various factors that contribute to success. He posits that how and when you are born makes an impact, as does the commitment to getting good through 10,000 hours of practice. While there are some who criticize this theory or methodology, I do believe the practice part to be true – many “overnight” success stories are born from the years of toiling below the radar: the band in the garage, the writer at the kitchen table at the crack of dawn, the athlete at the track after school, the entrepreneur wearing all the hats.
We often see only the final product, not the messy build. We forget the untold hours of grueling work, of trial, error, iteration, hustle – that creates the things we enjoy and consume. Even this blog post is a result of several hours of writing time, but also of thinking, editing, and preparation for publishing. In our fast-paced culture, it is this myth that can undermine our own best intentions to build something of significance or that satisfies our creative souls. But: worth it.
41 Words to Go | Monkey Mind
Today, I keep checking my word count. 41 words to go. Natalie Goldberg talks about monkey mind: our endless creativity in finding ways to distract ourselves. There are days when the practice comes easy and flows. The key is to get our backside back into the chair and push through the tough days when every sentence or phrase or lap is a struggle. When we do this and tally up at the end of the month or year, we end up with a substantial investment in the thing that we are building, and it DOES make a difference. This too, is success.
With love, light, and persistence,
K
At the Workbench: A Challenge | 15 Minutes
This week, when you are trying to focus and you would rather hang from your fingernails than do the thing, set a timer for 15 minutes. Take a moment to notice and acknowledge your inner state and then get to work. If, at the bell you want to be done, be done. Celebrate that win. And if you have dropped into the work, keep going. Focus takes practice. Let me know how it goes!
Resources:
- Podcast: Jeff Goins Podcast (Don’t have the episode but love his stuff). https://goinswriter.com/hello/
- Book: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
- Book: Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writers Craft by Natalie Goldberg
- For some of my Mom’s beautiful playing, check out this podcast we did together!
- Photo: Taken from our balcony in Hawaii, March 2022
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