If you want to be good at something, it takes time. It just does. People fail, not because their ideas are poor or for lack of talent. It’s simply because they give up.
I used to teach in an energy yoga studio. I witnessed, first hand the healing power of yoga for body, mind and spirit for many students. Can practicing yoga heal everything? Probably not. What I do know is that for students who commit to a regular practice, changes begin to happen in their physical body . . . and ultimately, their spirit. But there’s a catch. You have to keep at it!
One day, an older gentleman came to the studio. His wrists were arthritic and swollen and he could barely move them. I gave him a simple wrist rotation exercise and told him to start slowly and gently,
thirty rotations in each direction. Every day. At first it was painful for him and his movements were negligible. But he was committed. After one week he increased the rotations to 50, then 100 and finally 500. After only three or four months, he regained full mobility of his wrists!
Okay, you say, very nice, but this is supposed to be a blog about Writing, Travel & Awakening. How is this yoga story related? It is the same for anything: consistency. If you want to write, you have to keep at it. If your intention is to write a memoir, self-help book or a novel, just the idea of it is not enough. You have to work at it day by day, week in and week out . . . months. You’ll want to throw the whole accumulated mess into the trash. I did. I can’t write, you tell yourself. This is garbage. These self-criticizing thoughts are the first obstacle to overcome. Have you ever wondered where your thoughts come from? Without awareness, humans tend to believe whatever nonsense arises in the brain. The nature of the mind is arbitrary and flips from one thought to the next in a nano second. Most of it is rubbish. Begin to question and examine the thoughts that pop into your brain. Keep writing. You may walk away from your project for a week, a month or even months. I strongly encourage you to be okay with walking away – but, come back. Sometimes an interval of time is needed to reassess, gain more experience or just process. Do something completely different, or write on another topic. Go somewhere you’ve never been before and experience new sights, smells, or perhaps meet up with some people whose culture is completely different from yours. When you come back, open your project again. You’ll see it with new eyes. Maybe you’ll even say. Wow, this is not bad. Poof! inspiration returns. The point is, just because you walk away for a bit doesn’t mean you’ve abandoned a solid and beautiful idea.
Success happens, not necessarily to the most talented, or the brightest. It comes to those who consistently put one foot in front of the other. You may feel lost for a while and stumble. That is the beauty of a journey! Most of us fall into the trap of thinking that life should always be easy and comfortable and run for cover at the first snag or sign of trouble. It’s the same with a writing project. Sometimes words flow and sometimes they dam up. It’s natural and to be expected. So, start again. And then again. You won’t be sorry!
“If you believe it will work out,
you’ll see opportunities.
If you believe it won’t, you will see obstacles.”