We have a tendency to think the big things we want to accomplish will somehow be easier in the future. We just know that we’ll have more time, energy, patience and motivation than we do now – after the kids are back in school, after the holidays, when this work project wraps up, or as soon as money isn’t as tight.
So we put off the creative projects that make us feel excited and energized and scared: the books we want to write, the albums we want to record, the art we want to create. We might have good intentions about picking them up back up when “it’s a better time.”
But the truth is, there is no such thing as the perfect time.
It’s never that ideal future moment we’re looking for, free from the burdens of bills and jobs and illnesses. It would be great to wake up one day and have nothing to do but work on creative projects – but for most of us, that’s not likely.
So that means we have to start now. Even though the timing isn’t perfect, and there are a thousand excuses to wait – start anyway.
If that sounds intimidating, don’t worry; you don’t have to do it all at once! Spend a few minutes with your personal journal today, taking those first small steps past the starting line.
Journal Writing Exercise: What Ignites You?
- Take a quiet moment to think about the creative project that you most want to pursue. This should be something that ignites your passion when you think about it. What is it? What does it mean to you? Open your personal journal, and free-write about this idea and why it’s so important for you to act on it. How does it make you feel? What does it look like when you imagine the final product?
- Now make a list of all the reasons you’ve had for not starting before. You might be tempted to explain it as simply not having enough time, but push past that easy answer in your journal writing. What takes up your time instead of pursuing this goal? What other emotions do you think are holding you back or causing you to procrastinate? Fear, guilt, self-consciousness? Why?
- Write yourself a message promising to take a small action to push your project forward today. Set the bar low; commit to putting the first few strokes of paint on canvas, or writing one paragraph of your memoir. Promise to do it by the end of the day, and know that it’ll get easier with each step!
What’s your big idea? Share what you’re working on and how your Personal Journal can help or is helping you in the process.
This Workbook Helps You Keep a Personal Journal for Ideas and Creative Projects.:
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