“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.”
– Gloria Steinem
I truly am at my happiest when writing. I don’t feel like I should be doing something else. The words just seem to flow. I don’t judge my words or worry about perfecting them. My job is to just get the words out and polish them up later.
This morning, however, was a very rare exception. As I sat down to write on a topic dear to my heart; ‘why BYO Purpose will be the culture game-changer for companies’, I felt stuck and stodgy. What would I write? Why am writing it? Who am I writing it for? Is anyone even reading my words? The few words I did manage to get out seemed preachy and passive-aggressive. They lacked humility and compassion. They felt all wrong.
So, I stopped writing. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and consulted my writing buddies at work. They suggested that I write about what’s in my heart instead of in my head. They urged me to write the truth.
And the truth is, that most of the time, writing is the only thing that I simply can’t not do. Writing books that truly matter (to me and others) is actually my highest reason for being. So, when I’m not in flow or in love with my work, it feels really painful. It makes me wonder if I really am ‘on purpose’.
And then, I just start writing again. I just keep writing, this time from a different place, not a preachy place, but from a humble, loving place. And then my words become cool, sweet-tasting raindrops of encouragement (to myself and my readers.) I become one with my work. I fall in love with writing all over again. I reconnect with my why. I come home.
What’s that thing, you can’t not do? I’d love to know. #thepurposeproject #payitforward
Give the Gift of Purpose. Pay it Forward. Buy a personally autographed copy of The Purpose Project for a friend. READ HERE