Shortly before I started this blog I downloaded the Commit App on iTunes and set a very reasonable goal of writing 500 words per day. Most days this was really easy and I ended up writing closer to 1000 and in come cases over 1500 words.
I missed a day already? Argh
I was on a roll and made it all the way to 12 days! Wait? Only 12 days? What the heck happened?
I got sick.
I got a stomach bug and it knocked me down for 24 hours. I didn’t get any sleep and was so weak it even hurt to watch TV or check email. Yuck. Living in Bolivia has some risk and parasites and such are the biggest. My wife had it the night before and as I helped take care of her I kept praying I wouldn’t get it too. Unfortunately I did and it brought my Commit total back down to zero!
What a bummer! I was doing so well and on fire to write. I was writing in the mornings during the week as part of my new routine. Usually I would write at least 2-3 sections on my book and then start writing posts for this blog.
Other times I would write on our mission blog about our journey into missions. Either way I was writing!
But then I got sick.
So is being sick an excuse? What about other excuses? I can easily justify not writing when I was completely exhausted and could barely get out of bed. But what about some other excuses that I have overcome since I started writing regularly?
- I don’t feel like getting up early to write
- I am too tired at night to write
- I don’t have anything to write about
- I’d rather watch a movie or play with the kids
- I have too many distractions and now isn’t a good time to start
- I get distracted too easily and end up surfing the internet or checking email
- I am not really a writer, who will read this anyway
- I am bored about the subject so I think I’ll do something else
All these excuses above I have been able to overcome in just 12 days! Unfortunately, I was not able to overcome having the stomach flu. Do I feel guilty about it? No.
Don’t Give Yourself a Guilt Trip if you Stumble
Writing is easy once you start. The hard part is starting. It is just like exercise. When you first begin you are on fire and your motivation is sky-high.
Hooray! I am back in business.
After you get into a routine though it is easy to let something knock you off your game. In my case it was falling sick. But it could have easily been one of the other excuses I listed above.
Now that I am back on the horse, and nearly 500 words in already, I am feeling better. I had a reasonable excuse to take a day off. And I probably needed it too. The creative part of the mind needs a rest too.
So what are some excuses you battle with when it comes to motivation? And what have you done to overcome a lack of motivation?