I recently read a blog post by one of my favorite authors and creators, Danielle LaPorte. I felt that she had written the post especially for me.
Danielle talked about her first book, The Fire Starter Sessions, and the lessons she learned as she wrote and published it.
Her first “lesson” was the one that really resonated with me: Create no matter what is going on around you.
Am I doing this? I asked myself. Am I creating no matter what is going on around me?
And the answer came: Yes, I am.
I am a writer and an aspiring author, yet my life revolves around my family—immediate and extended. A few days ago I wrote to a friend about progress on my various interests outside my family. This is what I said:
“To be perfectly honest, my life is not set up to be anything but a stay-at-home mom and a support person to my extended family—right now. But I’m plugging along, doing what I can, when I can.”
I’m doing what I can, when I can.
I’m working on my short story, I’m writing blog posts, and I’m journaling. When I look at all that I’d like to do as a writer, it’s not a lot, but when I look at my life as a whole and my priorities, I’m very happy with all that I am doing.
I’m working toward my 10,000 hours of mastery, sometimes 5 or 15 minutes at a time.
“Create no matter what’s going on around you.” I think Danielle means just ignore everything and create. I see her lesson in a different way.
There’s a lot going on around me every day, so I tell myself to write “for 15 minutes,” or I create “just one tool” for my life coaching clients, or I keep my iPad in view so I can add a few ideas to the mind map I’ve started for my next talk whenever I have a spare few minutes.
These are tiny steps, but they add up.
I used to end every day feeling defeated because I “didn’t get anything done.” When I said that to myself I ignored all the tasks, chores, loving, and caring I did every day. I meant I didn’t get 1000 words written, or a story finished, or another chapter written. I didn’t get anything real or substantial doneand nothing else counted.
These days I know that everything I do counts and anything I do with respect to my writing is progress.
I know I will continue to create no matter what’s going on around me. Today I may only have 15 minutes to write, but I know there will be a day in the not-too-distant future when I’ll have plenty of time to write. On that day I’ll be glad for the free hours and I know I’ll look back and be glad I spent today’s hours as I did, and I’ll be glad for that 15 minutes of writing.
How do you continue to create no matter what else is going on?
Diane MacKinnon, MD: is a blogger, writer, life coach, mother, and stepmother. I don’t want to say I’m lowering my expectations of myself, but if you want to look at it that you, you could. I choose to think that I’m doing what I can, when I can, and that’s just right!
