Writing is weird. I think about writing every day. Mostly in that I'm telling myself that I should be writing. But I'm not.
Instead I am organizing, clutter clearing, looking up recipes, coming up with endless lists of creative ideas for work and my personal life. Basically, I'm doing anything other than writing. But you know what I'm doing while I'm doing each of these activities, thinking about writing. It's pretty mentally exhausting.
After spinning in mental circles day after day, I have to ask myself honestly, do I even like to write? I think I do. I would love to have more confidence when I say that. Let me clarify.
I know I like to tell stories. That is my talent. Whether through talking, acting, writing, video, photos, I know I can communicate a story. I like to make people laugh. And I like to share ideas to help people improve their lives.
The thing about writing (or acting, or photography etc.) that is so challenging, is there is always more you can do, your creation can always be better. Always. This gets me stuck. "I can't do this or that until I know or have this or that....". There is a constant road block, every day. There is always something else I think I need to really understand, or have completed, or have together before I start to write something. The thing is, if I wait to communicate until I have it all together, it will never happen.
So how can I ever finalize anything? I can't speak for others but I personally need to look at everything I create as a work in progress. Even if it's not perfect, I need to start to share it, so I can make the next piece better. I also need to remind myself that what I am creating is not for everyone and that does not matter. If there is one person who finds it helpful, useful or interesting, then I have done what I need to do. I am not communicating with everyone. I'm communicating with someone. That perfect someone who will receive the information I created, just at the perfect time when they need it.
That's really what it is about. Being authentic, sharing my creativity, no matter what, no matter where I am, so the message can be heard by whoever needs it at that moment. Even though I know this, doing what I love and doing what I want to do is often painful because I would truly rather be doing anything else at the moment. It's the reward, the feeling after I've followed through and completed a piece of writing or any other creative project that makes me feel good and accomplished (if only for a minute or two).
I am not a great writer but I am a story teller. I will continue to tell my stories in any way I can because that is what I do. That is all that I can do. If you can relate to what I'm saying then I have a recommendation for you, a must read if you haven't already read it: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield