"I want to write, but I just can't," someone recently lamented to me. She looked disappointed by my response: "You have to practice." If you want to be a writer, you must practice writing. Her face expressed, "Ugh."
I clarified. When you sit down to practice writing, you are not literally practicing how to write sentences and grammar and all that technical, tedious stuff. Hopefully, you learned how to read and write some time ago.
When you sit down to practice writing, you are practicing the courage to sit down and write. You are practicing facing your fear and managing it. You are practicing showing up. You are practicing trying. You are practicing finding your voice and expressing it. You are practicing playing with your inspiration. You are practicing trusting the wisdom that inspired you in the first place. You are practicing your dreams.
I could see her face brightening. Creativity (be it writing or any other activity you are inspired to do) isn't a chore to be dreaded. It's a practice. And if you show up, the practice will inform, entertain and nourish.
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