Writer’s Block

Let’s talk about writer’s block.

There’s a lot going on when we talk about writer’s block, and I think that overcoming it starts with understanding why it’s there in the first place. For me, my writer’s block always starts with fear.

So I have to understand that I’m in a state of fear, and then I have to make myself aware of what exactly it is that I’m afraid of/hesitant about. What I’m in resistance to. Because part of understanding writer’s block is understanding that it’s an internal, not external force.

It comes from within us, which in and of itself is kind of paradoxical. Because we love to create, right?! Why should we be resistant to something we love? And why are we afraid? Creating is not going to hurt or kill us… right?

But it’s not that simple. (Nothing ever is, especially when it comes to our own internal battles.) Fear is a survival response — and survival can mean a lot of different things to us individually. Because survival and pain and distress aren’t just physical.

They’re psychological. At the end of the day, our brains want to keep us safe and comfortable. Fear is in place to protect us from taking “unnecessary” risks. Unfortunately, creating, learning, stretching ourselves, and growing all come with a bit of risk and discomfort.

Any creator would agree — no matter how much we love it, it’s HARD to create things. It’s easier to NOT create. There’s no resistance when there’s no potential struggle, no spiritual/mental/physical peril.

Again, this is all coming 100% from my own experience, and it’s going to be slightly-to-vastly different for every creator. But after acknowledging the fear and understanding its root(s), then comes the really hard part — choosing how to respond to it.

What’s maybe hardest about this whole thing is that choice. Knowing that only we are responsible for taking action against the fear and resistance. A lot of writers and creators rely on accountability groups to keep them moving forward and taking action against the resistance.

I have friends who will encourage me when I ask for it, but it’s still gotta be initiated by ME. I have to choose to move forward. I have to want to climb the mountain, even though I know it’s going to be a struggle.

THERE ARE MANY DAYS WHERE I FAIL TO MAKE THAT CHOICE.

Doing hard things is… HARD.

But it’s worth it.

But… it’s HARD.

And when I talk about taking action, I’m not talking about making one choice, and then it’s easy forever. We need to take action every day that we want to progress. Every day I need to sit down and make the decision to push past my fear and uncertainty and doubt and CREATE.

Again, there are a lot of days where I fail to do this — where I’ll lose myself in busy work or responding to emails because it “feels” productive. And a lot of the time, it’s work that needs to get done. But it’s not meaningful in the same way creating is meaningful.

(And when I talk about “meaningful” here, I’m talking about work that fulfills my personal mission and vision in the world. I’m not saying that responding to emails or doing work for your day job is meaningless. “Meaningful” is relative and it is going to mean something different for everyone.)

What do you need to understand about yourself today?

What do you need to acknowledge about yourself?

What do you need to take action for or against?

What is that next step?

Words & warmth,

Sarah