On facing my demons & being inspired by others

Last week, I worked on a number of different potential blog posts and/or essays, but I didn't complete any of them.  It was a pretty heavily-scheduled week in terms of family, school, volunteer and work commitments.  Still, if I'm a writer - then I make time for writing no matter what.  There will always be other "things" going on.  I haven't blogged for several weeks; my last post was March 4th.  I haven't yet discovered the secret to blogging consistently or meeting my other writing goals.  Because there is no secret.  I just have to do it.  I'm super-talented at making excuses, procrastinating and wasting time when it comes to writing.  My perfectionist tendencies, the fear of failure and the voices of doubt all conspire to help me with my excuse-making, procrastination and time-wasting.  It's possible to overcome these demons with sheer willpower, consistent schedules, good habits and some accountability.  Why am I able to just get things done and complete projects in other areas of my life, but not with my writing?  I don't procrastinate or waste time in anticipation of making my bed each morning or flossing my teeth every night.  The difference, of course, is that my self-worth isn't at all intertwined with how I make my bed or floss my teeth.  Sure, the dental hygienist always mentions that I could do a better job of flossing.  But I don't take it personally.  I also don't worry that someone will come into my bedroom and say that I suck at making my bed.  With my writing, however, the critical voice is there.  The voice that says... "Maybe this sucks."  "You're not a good writer."  "They might think it's stupid."  "Who do you think you are?"

While I was "thinking about" blogging last week, my daughter just went ahead and blogged.  You see, she doesn't "think about" all the stuff I do.  Thankfully, none of my children seem to have inherited my perfectionist tendencies (or at least not to a great degree).  My daughter didn't mull over whether people would like her post or not.  She doesn't revise her blog posts twenty times before posting them.  She just decides she's going to blog and does it.  Interestingly enough, I had been writing recently about how important modeling is to effective parenting, because what you do and how you behave are infinitely more significant than what you say.  At the same time, I was struck by how my daughter can be a model for me.  She hasn't developed all the doubts or fears that I have when it comes to writing.  I hope she never does.  She models for me just getting it done.  Then I thought of other examples of people doing their thing and getting stuff done.  And I felt inspired!  It's possible to see what other people are doing and feel inadequate.  Most of us have felt that at one time or another.  We can choose, alternatively, to be inspired by others.  To see what they do and think it's great.  To see what they do and let it inspire and motivate us to do our own unique thing that we do.  Who was I inspired by last week?  An artist friend who showed her work at a gallery; friends, family & neighbors who volunteered in many different ways - cleaning up their neighborhoods, parenting or working with young people who have disabilities, planning events and raising funds for a variety of good causes, etc., etc.

In the spirit of being inspired and not listening to the doubting voices, I will not endlessly revise this post but simply click "publish" and be done!  In fact - this post turned out to be a bit different than I planned or thought, and that's okay!

How about you?  Who or what has inspired you lately?  What will you do with that inspiration?

random doodle because I am not going to procrastinate by looking for the perfect graphic companion to this post