“Don’t write a book unless you just can not NOT write it.” – Maya Angelou
I haven’t been writing much lately, in my blog, or anywhere, truly. My yoga dharma talks, which were once the effusive ideologues of youth, have been reserved and quiet.
My energy has been taken up by personal relationships and by growing my coaching business, which takes me being more extroverted than is in my true nature. And now, at the end of the day, I find that there’s not a lot left over to give to writing or inspiring.
You understand, right? Even if you’re not growing a business or doing the dance of an on-again-off-again relationship, you pour your energy out in so many different directions. In busy times like these, we can learn to prioritize consciously, rather than succumb to a haphazard whirlwind of to-do lists. We can sort by which activities have the most impact, which takes the shortest amount of time, and which brings us the most joy.
Recently I’ve been demoting things (namely, writing blogs and spinning super spiritual stories for my students) when they don’t feel in the flow. When I’d rather get my teeth cleaned than execute a certain task then I know that item is just too forced. Forcing something diminishes its potential for magic, momentum, and meaning.
However, that said, there’s something about a regular practice of something, even when that certain something doesn’t feel in the flow. Doing your practice, even when not feeling fully inspired, can be necessary to create meaningful habit change. If I waited until I “felt like it,” I would never go to the gym, to the dentist, or pay my taxes. Countless writers attribute their writing success to forcing themselves to sit down at the keyboard every single day, no matter if they felt like it.
My experience this afternoon as I somewhat reluctantly sat down to write about not forcing things is such: the structure of writing in and of itself has created a flow. Like getting back on the ski slopes after a long Summer, what starts off clunky and slow eventually gains that magical momentum.
So stick with a practice even when it feels forced, or turn to where you’re inspired and feeling in the flow? What do you think? Please comment below.
By Elise Fabricant
Elise is a life coach and teacher on YogaDownload.com.
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Morning Quickie with Elise Fabricant