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This blog’s title is “The Heart of Writing,” but it could just as easily be “I Learned It the Hard Way.” That’s what’s going through my head as I finally sit down to write my first blog post since January.
During the past six months, in addition to having a full plate at Penguin, I traveled the country and the world encouraging writers. Since I last posted, I’ve visited writers in New Hampshire, Massachusetts twice, New Jersey, Belgium, Texas, and California, at bookstores, writing centers, and conferences, and everywhere I went, I challenged people to push past the blocks and distractions, the self-defeating doubts and fears, and create.
These trips fed my soul and inspired me. The writers I met shared stories that moved me, made me laugh, and energized me. I brainstormed, danced, and happily noshed with them on frites, barbecue, and breakfast tacos. Together, we railed at the state of the world and explored ideas about how to make it a better place through creative work.
But here’s what I didn’t do: write.
Why? Because STARTING IS THE WORST.
One of the key concepts I share with writers in my book, The Hero Is You, and in my workshops, is the importance of understanding and acknowledging your own strengths and weaknesses. It’s tough to build on your strengths and fortify your weaknesses if you don’t know what they are. Being self-aware about both can help you work with them and grow from there.
Starting is one of my biggest weak spots. I know I’m not the only one who feels that way—I’ve had many writers in my travels share similar woes with me.
So what’s so difficult about starting?
For one thing, it requires us to make a mental leap that can sometimes be challenging: forcing ourselves to disconnect from what we are doing right now (which might be enjoyable) and do something that, at least initially, may not be enjoyable. In his 2010 article about procrastination in the New Yorker, James Surowecki talks about how we always imagine that our future selves will somehow be more eager to do what, in the moment, doesn’t appeal. And my future self is definitely going to read all those long, serious New Yorker articles in the pile of magazines next to my bed.
If you, like me, struggle with starting, ask yourself what it is that’s holding you back. Is it difficulty connecting with the future version of yourself, the one that will be so glad you finally started the project, because you’re too deeply rooted in the present moment? Or is it something else—maybe perfectionism, fear that what you write (or whatever it is you’re trying to do) won’t match the vision of it in your mind? Or are you worried that, once you start, you’ll get sucked into a whole world that you’re not sure you’re ready to enter?
Once you know more about what’s holding you back, how can you take that information you’ve gathered and flip it to a positive reflection rather than a criticism? And how can you turn that positive into a source of motivation?
I find it helpful to remind myself that, once I do start, I’ll probably get so absorbed that then I won’t want to stop. As a kid, I was always hesitant to get into the swimming pool, but just ask my mother how hard it was to pull me out of there once I’d finally dunked in. Knowing this about myself can help give me that push to the edge of the diving board.
And knowing yourself can help you start whatever it is that you’re hesitating to begin. This summer, I hope you’ll push yourself to the edge and dive in.
(For more tips about overcoming procrastinating and getting started, check out this concise and helpful article on 99U by Jocelyn K. Glei.)
