Wow. Last week was… A WEEK. Amidst the election anxiety, crises with friends, bad news about a project, and a trip to the ER, I found myself thinking, “But… I was doing everything right!”
Life comes at us fast and hits us hard sometimes — even (and, it feels, especially) when we start to get it together, tune out the shoulds, and do everything right. You get back on track with your podcast, you stick to your new writing schedule and hit your daily word count, you pay your bills on time and eat healthy five days in a row — and despite all of that work, life is still not the idyllic image from your dreams.
Sometimes, it’s enough to make us shake our heads and wonder, “Why bother?”
Honestly, it’s a good question. So let me turn it back around on you, just as I had to do for myself — Why bother, indeed?
Is it worth it to try? What do we get out of doing our best despite life’s nastiest curveballs? What does it mean to be flexible, to relinquish control, and to roll with the punches? What does that look like for us as creators — creators who have aspirations, hopes, dreams, and goals to meet?
These are questions that only you can answer for yourself, aloud, silently, or in your journal. And the answers you come up with will shape the actions you take — which will in turn determine how well you weather your journey, how well you navigate the rocky, pothole-filled road that is life.
I believe that it’s always worth it. We just have to remind ourselves (with more or less frequency) why.