feliceIt’s August and I’m living in the moment for sure with an eye toward the autumn and winter semesters. My brain has been trained in semesters and I like to imagine that my seasonal fresh notebook will fill with a memorable project in a reasonable amount of time. But often, with a blink, the season passes and I have not done the project.
The truth is, it takes courage to commit. I remember when I started BA50 in 2011, (OMG that’s 12 years ago) it felt hugely courageous. I had thought about it for too long and then I hired a coach to get me going because I could not do it alone. My summer before the launch was disciplined and intentional and I wrote 100 blogs as a personal challenge. That feels insane to me right now as I write for an hour before my day unfolds.
This morning after an incredibly motivating experience yesterday, I am ready to commit again to a new project which just writing those words accelerates my heart rate.
The coaches all say if you have an idea that makes you a tad anxious/excited you are onto something and keep going. But as we know, it’s one thing to want to do it, it’s another thing to commit and do it!
Do any of you feel this way?
I wrote a screen play over 3 months during the first winter of Covid and set it aside. Every day I wrote, I was lost in the process. As I wrote, I consciously gave myself permission to fail, meaning hours without anything worth keeping on the page, but still hours of committed time to staying and sitting with the process. After 3 months I had something I liked alot but knew needed way more work.
I’ve done nothing with that screen play since then, (2 winters ago), but now I want to.
I’m calling on my courage to commit to finishing that writing project, succeed or fail and have decided it is going to be my next semester’s work. There I said it!
I was thinking about all of this on my bike ride yesterday which triggered me to think about my next commitment. It wasn’t just a bike ride. It was my 37th year riding the Pan Mass Challenge which raises money for the Dana Farber Cancer Center. (This is not a fundraising post so don’t quit on me here).
The first 30 years of riding in this event, it was easy for me to gear up for the 85 mile one day ride or the 194 2-day ride because I loved biking and love the people I ride with and of course feel great about the fundraising for this worthy cause. But, about 6 years ago my body didn’t love biking so much. My back would hurt after 15 miles, and try as I might to stretch, strengthen and refit my bike — it didn’t alleviate the discomfort.
Then, I ran into an old friend (he’s in his late 70’s), who told me about his amazing bike trip.
“Doesn’t your back hurt when you ride,” I asked.
“Nothing hurts, I bought an incredible bike and I feel great.”
“How incredible could that bike be?”
He looked me squarely in the eyes and said, “You love biking, you are passionate about it, technology has changed and you deserve to invest in a new bike and fall in love with biking again.”
That was it — I went to the bike store and found the latest and greatest racing bike and it even has a power assist that I could turn off or on when I wanted.
Yesterday I had the ride of a life time. I rode with my PMC buddies for 85 miles, I felt like my old self again. I felt stronger and empowered (someone called me a cheater because of the electrical assist), but I don’t feel that way. I am so glad my body feels better and I can ride more with freedom and reclaim what I love.
So, in the context of this ride, I was motivated to take the next plunge and look at how I could change my writing process to help me get unstuck. I decided my screenplay needs a village and I can’t do it alone. I plan to bring a group of writers to my table to work on it and move it forward.
It’s not what I want to do that is the issue, it’s been how I’ve been doing it. That goes for the writing projects and the biking and who knows what else.
What are you working on that you need to rethink how you are doing it?
Want to join me on a call to put your project out there and talk about how to get it done.
Email me at Felice@betterafter50.com and we can talk about how to push one another on a group call. Once I get some interest I will put together a time for a whole group us and together we can find the courage to commit.