I don’t know what your “it” is. For me, it’s writing. Not just sitting down at my computer and intending to write. Actually writing. Not getting lost on Facebook or YouTube. Not getting interrupted by my kids. But putting words on digital paper until something coherent begins to take shape.
It sounds so easy to say I’m a writer. But actually writing. That’s not as easy as it sounds.
Why is that?
It’s not a priority for me. For sure, my desire to write is a priority. I really want to do this. But the moving it from my desire into reality hasn’t been important enough to really do. So I don’t schedule the time. I don’t make the time. I let it get lost in the ebb and flow of a regular day, and when I’m done, it’s still a pipe dream of an idea I had once about myself.
It’s not a priority for my family. Yes, they’d love to see me write and publish. But my kids don’t see how sitting at my computer is work. And since they’re going to interrupt me in another 45 seconds, I don’t start working. So when they come in, I’m back on Facebook. So they don’t think my computer means work. And on the cycle goes. But if I want this hard thing to happen, I need them to make this a priority for me, too.
I don’t set goals well. I recently watched someone working on a project, and I realized that they had not planned anything about it beforehand. They are kind of taking it on the fly, addressing problems as they arise, and it blew me away. How did they think they were going to manage this project successfully without a plan?!?
And then I realized what I was saying. And how I’m pretty much wishing things would happen, but not really planning either. I’m hoping to create something big and meaningful and creative and purposeful. But I don’t have a plan either. I am going to have to start making goals. Big ones, sure. But little ones, too. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of floating, instead of living. And I’m going to have to start swimming again if I want to see things change.
I’m sure there are more reasons. I know there are more reasons. But those are the big ones. And maybe they sound familiar.
Whatever your “it” is, I hope you know that you’re not alone. It’s not as easy as it sounds. And there are a lot of us out here, wishing instead of planning and prioritizing. But I bet, with some encouragement, we can do it.
So what is your “it”? What do you talk about that isn’t as easy to do in real life? What holds you back from seeing that happen?
