Writing is an act of perseverance.
Anything that is worth doing is really an act of perseverance. I know I’m not saying anything you all haven’t heard. We all know the whole bit about if you really want something, then you’ll continue to work toward it even when it is hard. But, I feel like that whole lecture on being resilient and focus never really sunk in until now. Case in point, it does not feel like I’ve had this blog up and running for almost two months. Then again, I had also planned to make a post every day.
So far, I’ve managed once a month.
In the past, when I have started something I was amped about only to fail to reach the lofty goals I set for myself, it was easy to just let go of what ever that project was. I never gave much thought to why that was or if that meant I don’t have perseverance in my personal life. I defintely have it in my work life. Now that I’ve started something that I feel strongly invested in I can understand what it truly means to hold on to the original tenacity that gives birth to a dream and to continue to push when obstacles appear.
I think part of the reason is because of my daughter. Becoming a mother changed my perspective and has motivated me to set a positive example for my daughter. I want to show her that no matter where you are in this journey we call life, you can always chase a dream.
What that looks like, is prioritizing the small amount of time I have to focus on the part of my journey that is the most important. Instead of writing a post everyday, I focus on trying to squeeze in writing on the first draft of my current book. When that time gets interrupted or I can’t find the time to do something musical, I learned to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Jingle Bells” on the xylophone toy my daugther got for her first birthday. Bonus points for doing music AND playing with my daughter, who loves to try and play with me.
At the end of the day, I’ve had to change my viewpoint on what the perfect path looks like to achieve my goals. I’ve learned that perfect isn’t perfection but rather a collage of small pieces tied together to look like perfection. Or at least it looks that way from the outside. It’s hard for me to see it in myself and I’m sure some of you are struggling with the same thing. But, if you have the privilege to be so close to another person that you can see their collage, admiration for perfection becomes admiration for tenacity. There is quite a few people that I have crossed paths with in my life where I’m able to look back and see their collage now.
So, enjoy the beautiful journey you’re on, no matter what it is, because life is so much better with chaos instead of perfection.