I spent the last couple of days at the Breathe Christian Writers Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While I joined discussions about writing, heard talks about writing and even read about writing, I did very little writing. Hence, the blank spot in day #7 in my quest to #Write31Days.
Now, I could have posted on the blog on day #7, and in fact that’s what I intended — to write a couple of posts and schedule them ahead so that I could take a day or two off. Again, that’s what was INTENDED, but I failed to put action to that intention. Thank goodness, the world will not come to an end and I can start over today, day #8.
The quote above was offered at the conference by one of the speakers, Don Perini, a college professor who cited author Jon Acuff. Perini spoke to writers about “how to break through the internal obstacles of perfectionism, fear, procrastination and self-doubt that are preventing you from producing creative redemptive work.”
Perini asked us to determine the big resistance that halts action in our writing lives. For me, it’s busyness. I have difficulty saying “No” to requests for my time, loading my calendar with worthwhile activities, meet-ups, errands, favors that sap my “work” schedule. What Perini helped us to do was to own the truth: we choose the positive emotion that comes with giving in to the resistance (for me, busyness) over the task at hand.
In my case, the task at hand is writing.
Then Perini asked this question — “What would it take to let it go?”
What attitudes can I assume that will break the resistance of busyness in my life so that I can be more production and actually replace intention with action?
Here are Perini’s suggestions:
- Willpower.
- Be messy.
- Don’t Compare.
- Eat That Frog (do the most important, hard things on my list first).
- Make a good small change.
- Pick one thing and take action.
- Act with purpose, expecting an outcome.
You may think all this has nothing to do with telling our life stories, but I believe it has everything to do with any action we desire to take, but which has taken a back seat to “intention”. Including the act of sharing our life stories.
Something for you to think about in the days ahead.
“Tell your story. The book of this world is not finished without it.”
These words from author and speaker Leslie Leyland Fields are a challenge to you and to me. Do we want our stories to be included in the book of this world?
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Life stories knit us together, whether to family or to others who just need to know they are not alone. In these 31 days of October, I’ll be exploring the importance of STORY. You can read all 31 days by following the links under “31 Days of Story”. And, you can read blogs from other writers taking the #Write31Days challenge by visiting the website here.
Tomorrow: Why the world needs our stories
Thanks for these words, Ingrid. I too give my time for others, which is a good thing until you have no time left for writing. We have to remember this is something important that He has asked of us. This is especially hard for mothers!
You are absolutely right, Diane. As mothers, there’s always that tug to meet all their needs. Balance is key! So good to hear from you!