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Transcript

Are You Committed? · The Daily Writer

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: These lessons are inspired by great artists, authors, and thinkers, both past and present.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: We live in an age when it's easy to get out of almost any commitment.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you're unhappy with your cable TV service, you can switch companies.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: If your dinner at a restaurant doesn't taste good, you can send it back to the kitchen.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you're irritated at someone on social media, you can unfollow them or even block them.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: But what about your relationship with your writing?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: The concept of having a relationship with your writing might be new to you.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we view our writing as a task that we have to get completed.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: If we approach our work like so many writers do as a quote unquote tortured artist, then our writing feels like an unbearable burden or a cross we have to carry.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: But writing is none of those things.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, writing is a privilege.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's a treasure, a responsibility, it's an opportunity.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's why the word relationship is the best way to describe how we should approach our writing.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because a relationship requires commitment.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're committed in a relationship, you'll give that relationship the time and attention that it needs.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: And if you care for the relationship, it will grow.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: When you give to your writing, your writing will give back to you.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: The writer William Murray said until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: So if that's true, how do you stay on track?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: How do you keep committed to your writing when it's so easy to push it aside?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Here are three quick suggestions.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: First, set writing goals.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure the goals are reasonable and that you can achieve them with a reasonable amount of effort.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Don't make them too easy or too hard.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Second, ask for help from friends.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Get a group of two or three writer friends together once a week to talk about your writing and the progress you're making.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: This positive peer pressure will do wonders for your productivity.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: And third, give yourself a reward when you reach your goals.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Make the reward something that's meaningful and fun.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that will definitely help ensure that you're committed.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, speaking of being committed, the word can also refer to being locked away in a psychiatric institution.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, perhaps that's a fitting description of a writer who is committed.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Someone who is locked into a relationship with their craft, putting in the work, and maybe, just maybe, a little bit crazy.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks so much for listening to the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate your support and hope you enjoyed this episode.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can find more at dailywriterlife.com.