I’m working on a small gift for you, something to help you reframe your writing obstacles. To prepare, I’ve asked members of the Continuous Practice Community to share what keeps them from writing.

Rather than trying fix anything for anybody with the standard answers and strategies, I sat with the list of their responses for a while. I will eventually comment on each obstacle in one way or another, but for now, I want you to look at the list yourself and try to ascertain the common theme or themes.

  • Fear to go deeper
  • Procrastination
  • In my own way
  • Leaving functioning behind
  • Trusting the process
  • Time
  • Fear of not getting it right
  • Offending people I love
  • Lack of confidence
  • Other priorities

Do you see any patterns?

Here’s what came to me:

  1. Fear.
  2. Lack of trust in oneself.
  3. Self-blame and judgement.

So many writers are quick to point the finger at themselves rather than the multitude of roadblocks that life, including the life of the mind, puts before them.

I will start to share my thoughts on a few of the specific obstacles next Sunday. In the meantime, make a list of your own roadblocks and see where fear, blame, lack of trust, or anything else that might be lurking beneath pops up?

And if you have any obstacles you’d like me to address, please send them my way. I will address every one of them either in a Sunday message or as part of the piece I am preparing for you.

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