A Blog a Day

I want to write more. But I find myself not knowing how to start.

I’ve read about tactics on journaling, blogging, posting to Medium, writing on scratch paper throughout the day, recording my voice on my phone to write later.

I want to write more. But I find myself not knowing what to write about.

I’ve read about tactics on train-of-thought, using a Quora question as a prompt, responding to competitions and formal submission invitations.

I want to write more. But I find myself worried that I don’t have time.

I’ve read about time management and making time for the things that matter.

Writing is hard. Sitting down in front of a blank screen and with a blank mind instead of scrolling through websites and Facebook or getting sucked into tv is even harder.

I then think about another thing I do in my life that is hard. Something that is hard but brings me joy – sometimes during but always after, something I never regret doing but that is sometimes nearly impossible to reach activation energy to do.

Running. Running is hard. Lacing up my shoes when I’m tired and not sure I’ll feel good is hard. Toeing the line at a workout or race when I could fail is hard. Sometimes I feel like I could run forever, and sometimes I want to quit after five minutes. Sometimes the miles fly by and I marvel at the strength of my body and sprit, and sometimes each step is a struggle and I wonder why I even bother. But each step I take, on the good days and bad, brings me closer to who I really am. Running helps me connect with my inner-most self in a way that nothing else does. Part focused and part free-form, part physical and part mental, part discipline and part passion.

Over time I’ve learned these contradictions can exist together in the same space. It’s a lesson I daily try to apply to every aspect of my life. There can be multiple truths in every situation. There is beauty in letting them all be true and not forcing one over the other. There is freedom in allowing my mind to stop overthinking and just let the truth exist.

I want to write more.

I’ve stopped reading.

I’ve stopped overthinking.

I’ve started to write.