#543 Dissolve your worries

5 dead-simple steps to start writing – even if you’ve tried everything:

1. Set aside dedicated time tomorrow morning. From now on, this is your dedicated time every day.
2. Start with a Tiny Trust Builder; something that makes it easy for you to show up consistently. Write for one minute. Write one sentence. Write one word. If it feels hard to do every day, think smaller.
3. First build the habit, then build skill. Right now, you’re building a daily writing habit, not a “daily masterpiece” habit. That comes later.
4. If step 3 feels hard: write something bad on purpose.
5. If step 4 feels hard and you don’t feel motivated to write: write anyway. You don’t need motivation to write. You’re a writer. So you write.

Good luck!

When the best story in the world has already been written… why do I write?

Because writing is not a choice – and neither is telling stories.

Because stories are never finished.

Because the best stories in the world are written over and over again.

Because a story well-told depends on who you’re telling it to.

Because we all tell the same stories anyway, but that one little change, that one new interpretation can make the difference between touching someone or missing the mark.

But what IS the best story in the world?

I don’t know.

I do know they don’t have to be very elaborate to have impact:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Ernest Hemingway

When someone, sometime, stumbled upon six words that can evoke so much… How can I NOT continue my own search for stories and the words to tell them?

P.S.: Credits to Jony Mitchell for writing the best song in the world.

P.P.S: Extra credits for singing the most heartfelt version even after suffering a stroke and having to relearn to talk and sing.

P.P.P.S.: Credits to The Tallest Man on Earth for showing that a new interpretation can make even the best song in the world reach new heights, and providing the inspiration for this post.

You write today. You run today. You do yoga today. You reach out to friends today.

Because one day, when the going gets tough, you’ll be happy you have a writing habit to express ideas and feelings.

You’ll be happy you’re in shape enough to run.

You’ll be happy to know your body well enough to move freely.

And you’ll be happy you have friends.