Is it possible for vacation to have a downside?
Don't get me wrong. The last two weeks have been a welcomed break, from daily life.
But habits I've worked to build, to hard-set into my routines were challenged and tested.
One of those were writing, every day.
The good news:
I've written every day. (Some will be published, and others will remain in a notebook.)
I've published every day. (Old stuff, about which I reminisced about, reflected on, and in some cases, moved past.)
In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, I haven't "broken the chain" (Credit: James Clear.)
The bad news:
Two weeks away from my writing time and space, I've fallen out of my creative flow.
I've missed the physical, mental, and emotional groove that accompanies writing and publishing.
I realize now, rereading my old stuff, for years, I was writing for the wrong person: me.
Long, winding posts. Self-centered language. Old posts looking inward, not outward. They may have felt good to write (at the time).
Now I realize: That was then, and this is now.
"Ninety percent of success can be boiled down to consistently doing the obvious thing for an uncommonly long period of time without convincing yourself that you're smarter than you are."
(Source: Sunday Brain Food email via @farnamstreet)
And the promising news:
Writing then or now, I'm just glad that I write.
Not having the material to refer back to would prevent me from noticing my weaknesses, shortcomings, nor my growth or potential.
Views or retweets don't matter. Consistent writing and publishing, that matters.
Learning about what I think and how I think about something, that matters.
Knowing that if one person who needs to read a piece, reads it, and it helps them clarify their thinking or inspires them to act, that matters.
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