This week I've been thinking a lot about choices and time. We have a set amount of hours every day and a set amount of obligations, which initially does not sound like there are a lot of choices available but I think there are plenty of choices that we make each day. I think the concern is that we're not aware of our choices or they may not be aligned with the things we want to do.
I made a significant change to my writing process at the end of 2019. I was reading a book about creativity and most of it didn't resonate with me, but one piece of it did. It was this: you show up for work everyday, whether you want to or not. Yes, you get paid to do it, but you still make that choice every day. Why aren't you choosing to show up for your work or something that is important to you? Why aren't you choosing to show up for yourself? If something or someone is important in your life, you show up for them. If writing or creating was just helping other people, it would happen every day because we prioritize our responsibilities to other people. We need to treat our responsibilities to ourselves with the same priority, which is not to say be selfish or self-centered, but be mindful about your choices and whether or not they reflect what is actually important to you.
I write every day or almost every day. There are days that I do not write. I get an allotment of holidays and days off that I can choose to use, but that's it. I wrote a book earlier this year and there were actually no bad days with it. I had a lot of fun and every day I sat down and the words were there. I felt such peace and contentment each day, and enjoyed finding out what would happen next in the story. Then I started another novel and the same thing is happening. I'm on track to complete it this year.
If something is important to you, you will find a way but you need to be radically honest with yourself about what matters to you, why it matters to you, and what you are willing to do for it because it is not possible to have it all. What we have are choices. Be sure that you are actually making yours. When you think about what is really important to you, where you are choosing to spend your time, do it without judgment. If you have years of paints and canvas and you no longer feel you want to make the time for it, that is okay. You may feel differently one day, or it just may not matter to you anymore. Have compassion with yourself to stop clinging to things that no longer matter to you and open yourself up to discovering what does matter to you. When you find it, you may find that making the time for it becomes easy because you get so much in return. You get to make something, to feel a part of something, to feel a connection, and ultimately, to feel the contentment that comes from fulfilling a purpose
I write every day because it matters to me. It has always mattered to me, stories, poems, words, these things matter. It's only this year that I have fully aligned my life with what matters to me creatively. It's easy to think if only I had figured this out sooner, I could be x, y, z, but that line of thinking doesn't actually help. This happened for me in the time it was meant to and I am the person I am and writing what I write now. If it happened sooner or later, all of it would be different in ways that I can't imagine. I don't regret my journey because a journey is the only way to get anywhere. Good luck with your journey.
Short version: Choices
• Examine your choices to see if they aligned with what is important to you
• Show up for what is important to you
• Be radically honest with yourself about what is important to you
• Have compassion with yourself when looking at your priorities.
• Don't regret your journey as it's the only way to get anywhere.
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