The Sacred Art of Struggle

People often say to me, “I don’t know how you get so much done. You write a weekly ezine. That’s a lot of work. I don’t have time to do something like that. How do you do it?”

So today I want to talk about the 3 things I’ve done to make writing weekly essays an almost easy process. The three things are:

1) Starting with the Struggle

2) Perfecting the Process

3) Producing Consistently

Starting with the Struggle

GrowUp ezine started in 2008 and during that year I wrote 7 ezine essays.

Then in January 2009 I committed to two things, both of which completely failed:

1) Writing and sending two essays a month

2) Writing an entire year’s worth of essays – 24 of them – before the end of January 2009 so I’d have free time the rest of the year (I loved this idea, by the way.)

My loose goal was to send an ezine around the 15th and 30th of each month. I even wrote 24 essays before the end of January. Not the whole polished piece, but I had the guts of each idea and only needed to smooth them out for public viewing.

But as the months progressed a few problems started to surface:

1) By the time an ezine essay was due my reservoir of pre-written essays felt outdated. They were completely uninspiring to me and as a result, I wasn’t interested in editing them. Needless to say, many of those essays are still sitting unused on my hard drive.

2) So in March 2009 I realized I’d have to write 2 essays a month for the rest of the year, which was a bit unappealing to me.

In 2008, I struggled with the whole writing process. I never felt “in the writing groove” and writing was more frustrating than fun. The entire process became a chore. In 2009 I dreaded another year of this, but I didn’t know any way around it, and I didn’t want to stop sending my ezine.

So, by the end of 2009 not only had I wasted my time writing 24 “time saving” ezine essays that I never used, I was so stressed out by the writing process that I only emailed 1 essay a month. I think I even skipped two months!

Total number of essays written in 2009 – 15 (9 shy of my goal). This makes the combined essays for 2008 and 2009 twenty-two essays.

But then something big shifted.

The entire process for 2010 has been easier, a lot less time consuming and much more fun than anything I did in 2008 or 2009.

So far this year I’ve written and emailed more ezine essays than I did in 2008 and 2009 combined. You are reading 2010′s 25th essay and it’s only June.

How did I stop the struggle?

First of all, there is still struggle. It’s just less intense and easily manageable.

Second, I stopped the BIG struggle by committing to writing more, not fewer, ezine essays.

(Almost) Perfecting the Process

In January 2010, I decided to send weekly ezine essays. Considering my experience in 2009 I thought I was nuts, but it turned out to be an excellent choice.

It’s important to note that the writing process would probably not be as easy for me today if I hadn’t gone through my experience in 2008 and 2009.

In other words, the struggle was part of my “success”, not independent from it.

The struggle was part of the “perfecting process.” The more I struggled, the more I realized what did and did not work. And, the more I wrote, the easier writing became.

Additionally, instead of pre-writing essays, I collect fresh ideas by observing everything that happens throughout the week. This practice helps me 1) conjure up relevant ezine essay topics on a weekly basis and 2) address my clients’ current needs.

Lastly, I don’t start writing my essays until Monday morning, hours before I email them to you. Today I started writing at 9:00 am. Sometimes I don’t start writing until 11:00 am. Regardless, there are no more month-long struggles to produce one little essay. So, with the exception of collecting ideas, I spend one day writing and have the rest of the week free.

Producing Consistently

My process seems counter-intuitive to many people. When they hear I write weekly ezines they feel overwhelmed. But the process that started out overwhelming for me (in 2008 and 2009) is now much easier and it’s because I write more often, not less often.

For starters, I’ve learned to trust the writing process. I feel more easily “in the writing groove” which helps tremendously. I’ve developed short cuts to writing and they work.

I also have a predictable schedule and know that every Monday is for writing and nothing else. Before 2010, my schedule was too loosey-goosey. There was no structure and I waited until I was in the mood to write. Big mistake.

Having a schedule helps. I don’t make client appointments on Monday and I always keep the entire morning free. All I do is write.

The Sacred Struggle

As I’m sure you know, the more you do something the easier it becomes. And when you stick with something to the point that you can (almost) perfect the process the accomplishment feels great! It’s so worth the struggle.

In case my personal reflections haven’t hit home, here’s an image from the garden that may help you make it through the tough times:

When things grow they struggle, even if only a little bit. The initial stages of growth are probably the hardest.

Picture a tiny poppy seed about this big ( . ) pushing roots into hard soil and growing shoots through the surface of the rocky earth. It’s easier for the flower to bloom after the seed has split and the stem has struggled to break free of the ground. After this happens, the bud can freely expand in open air.

Imagine the fragile petals trying to bloom in the earth! It wouldn’t work. The seed has to struggle first, then bloom later.

The roots and stem endure a difficult journey in order for the bud to bloom freely. They are not separate experiences but part of the same growing process.

We grow the same way.

Reflections

I doubt I would be able to write consistent, weekly essays if I hadn’t struggled through the first 2 years and “perfected” my process.

Considering this, I encourage you to think of your struggle as a sacred growing process. A little bit of struggle is normal and makes you stronger.

What to do if you are struggling

However, if you are struggling a lot and for long periods of time it may be that something isn’t working for you.

In order to lessen the struggle you may need to redirect your efforts and find another way to grow your work.

Sometimes this means sticking with the process and doing more of it in order to perfect the process. Other times it means letting go of what you’re doing and trying something else.

Getting help from someone who has been through the struggle before you can save you a lot of time and frustration.

Who do you know who can help you?

(This question isn’t a slick marketing ploy to get you to call me for help! It’s a sincere question.)

Who do you know who has gone through what you are going through? How might they be able to help you push through to the other side?