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Two Half Written and Nothing To Post

By on April 21, 2010 in Living Your Truth

Today, I was productive.

I answered emails and blog comments and returned phone calls and made appointments. I coached a client and ran a twitter chat and wrote copy for my new consulting page.

I let my personal trainer kick my butt. Did the dishes. Unpacked boxes. Tidied the living room. (Well, I tidied it just enough so I was not mortified when the babysitter came.)

And then I sat down to write.

And found that today … today, I am boring.

I have two blog posts half-written. Full of facts. Full of detail.

But no story. No feeling. No epicness. No truth.

So, in a brilliant stroke of procrastination, I went on twitter.

And a tweet from my BFF Sarah Robinson came across my screen:

To which I replied:

And there it is.

That’s where the truth is. That’s the story. That’s always where the realness is.

In this moment.

And in this moment, I feel boring.

Productive, but boring.

Such is the ebb and flow of creativity. Some days the genius outside of us just ain’t showing up.

And our job is not to worry about the apparently lack of epicness. It’s not to lament the absence of inspiration.

Our job is to be in this moment.

As boring, as ordinary, as pedestrian as this moment may be.

To write. To create. To show up.

To do the work.

#thatisall

Related posts:

  1. An Anti-Confession of Days Not Written
  2. (whine) I don’t wanna write a blog post!
  3. This Blog Post is Not About 2010.
  4. Speaking, Bullsh*t, and Billionaires: Post-#Shine Wrap Up pt 2
  5. 18 Again (or, the post wherein I say the f word four times)

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  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    Yes, I'm commenting on my own post. #dork I just thought it was funny that my last “I don't know what to write” post (the “whine” one) was exactly a month ago, on March 21st. Apparently you can keep time by my angst. Interesting.

  • laine

    This struck me as slightly sad – that when you aren't doing something you think is “epic” you feel boring. When you are just being, you feel boring. There's a zen book by Charlotte Joko Beck where she talks about how when nothing is special, everything is. Finding the magic in every moment, not just the ones that are a performance or get retweeted or make for a good blog post.

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    Hum, that's not exactly what I mean. I didn't feel like I was boring, more that my writing was boring. I actually had some great skypes and conversations, and enjoyed my day and evening. Just sometimes the creative writing doesn't come. :)

  • lorilatimer

    You wrote: “Some days the genius outside of us just ain't showing up.”

    That is true. And some days, the genius INSIDE of us just ain't showing up, either. Sometimes it just needs a day off. And that's okay too.

    xo

    Lori

  • meganmatthieson

    Did you ever see the Ted talk by …Eat Pray Love author? Elizabeth Gilbert? Sooo lovely and so wonderful about the creative process and how ….it's this exactly. We take the baby steps and let go of when the Genius shows up. :)

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    yes Megan, I even linked to it in this post! :) I love that talk, and I watch it when I'm getting an angst-y about being a writer.

  • randomshelly

    Don't you seriously think that even realizing that you're current state of creativeness is 'boring' IS epic? I do.

    Makes me see that you are tuned into your self and you are listening and going with it and you are ok with that… That is epic right? :)

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    Yes, being in the moment w/ myself, having that self-awareness, is epic. :)

  • http://www.amymiyamoto.com Amy Miyamoto

    I still remember the massive liberating shift I had when I became aware of how much “extraordinary” lives in the ordinary moments. Thank you for exploring this topic as I believe it is an ongoing learning journey.

  • raydee

    Elizabeth,
    In this moment you are anything but boring maybe you are looking for something that you can’t see. you have learnt, you have grown, you are better than you where before now this is the norm where before it was all new and daunting and a challenge but now that is over, I see it in you and I am sure other people see it too ! Yes! Awesomeness in every moment you are alive. You are well equipped and qualified to do anything you apply yourself too. Maybe some self reflection might pick you up out of your boredom moments and spur you on to our next inspiring blog, video or next awesome mentoring moment!!! Or even pick up your next best friend: P