Mountains
There must’ve been something in the water today. Or, maybe, it was the rain returning after last week’s Old Testament storms. Something was out there and it wasn’t good or nice or positive. All the writer’s I spoke with today were feeling it and then some. Everyone. Even me.
That’s okay, though. It happens. Just another part of the package. Not one that I like to witness in my extremely talented, dear, dear friends; or wrestle with inside my heart as I try to get work done in the wee hours of the morning.
What’s it all about? Where does this huge fountain of anxiety spring from? Always one thing when you strip it all down. Will I make it? That’s a loaded, ambiguous question to ask oneself, mind you. One that won’t do you any good. But, we ask it of ourselves. We all do in some way. Inevitably that question takes on all these guises, nibbling at your confidence with piranha intensity.
Bottom line?
Somedays you feel like this:
And other days, more like this:
That’s not going to change. Comes with the territory when you’re chasing your dreams. The trick is to shift your heart and mind to the process, not the product. Did I write well today? Did I get some good work done?
The sooner you accept that – even if you lose sight of it from time to time – and make that switch the better off you’ll be. No matter how tentative that switch is at first. At least that’s what I believe. That’s where my faith is rooted.
I’ll leave you with this – a close friend said it today in response to this struggle:
We climb this mountain because we love to climb mountains, after all.
Can’t argue with the God’s honest truth. Best get back to work. Sure beats bartending.
Tags: Inspiration, Truth, Writing
Excellent post. Focusing on the process and not the product can keep you sane and keep you going. I have come to rely on this a lot recently.
It is interesting that you mention this in a mountain climbing metaphor. I have found it useful in all sorts of endeavors, but I first started to lean on this practice when I was literally climbing mountains. There were so many times when the summit just looked too tall, the climb looked too steep, and my body was too exhausted to make it. But if I could block all of that out, I could always find what I needed to take one more step and to grasp one more handhold. Before long, all of those “one mores” would add up and I would reach the top.
The trick for me is trying to balance a big picture view with the detail work of executing the process. It can inspire me and keep me from getting lost to pause and remind myself both of my end goal and my current progress before putting my nose back to the grindstone.
If you could drive to the top of the mountain, all sorts of people would be there with their fanny packs and their diet Cokes and it wouldn’t be special at all. And yes, it’s the whole process of getting to the top that really makes the top so incredible.