Despite being a “get it done” kind of guy, there are to-do items on my life list that linger on and on: things I claim are important … but which I never seem to do.
Lately, being a writer is one of those things. The ideas are there; the work is not. I start a book, then abandon it. I intend to invest an hour a day in creating new work, but allow myself to be pulled away.
In the end, instead of writing, I read books on writing, or talk about writing, or explore newer, better software for writers. None of these activities put words on the page.
So: I’m stuck. I’d like to be unstuck. And that’s why I downloaded Unstuck, a free app from the folks at Unstuck.com. The app’s fast, simple, fun, and offers pretty straightforward insights into why you’re stuck … and what to do next.
Unstuck pegs me as the classic “Idle Achiever” — capable, talented, able to produce … but distracted, waffling, and substituting busy work for the work I should be doing. Further, after delving into my situation with games and questions, it beat down my stories about myself, revealing what, upon reflection, does feel like the authentic core of my problem: when it comes to writing, I have this image of myself as being the “wonderboy” who exceeds expectations and creates dazzling prose on demand.
When reality clashes with my fantasy image of myself — when drafts are terrible, or when writing feels more like work than play — I abandon projects. Abandoning something, as it turns out, is a lot easier than completing something … or dealing with a crappy end result … or manifesting failure.
The solution? Fall in love with failure (which boils down to just being okay with things not turning out exactly as you imagined they would).
Can I do that? Maybe. At this point, it just feels good to name the demon … and believe, for however long I can believe it, that I can once again be … Unstuck.
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