Are you on the right path?

Golly. I have just downloaded all of my mini blogs from this page (excluding any that were just shared articles) and I have written over 45,000 words. Who knew I had so much to say? That’s since April 2015 when I started it. It was a rather tedious process to download them but as I have no other record I thought I’d better. 

The blogs have changed over time. At first they were very short, just a few lines, and almost exclusively about relationship tips. These days they can be any length. And topics range from menopause to cancer to new cars and, yes, still relationships too. 

A few months ago I wrote on here that I wanted to write a book. This followed on from a Writer’s Workshop that I attended where all attendees can submit a book proposal, with at least one person winning a publishing contract. I left the workshop enthused, thinking I did actually want to write a book. My working title was ‘How to have an Easier Life’, to be aimed primarily at women in their 40s (ish) and it would incorporate a lot of the things I write about on here. However, with the deadline looming, and with the help of some very wise friends / coaches, I came to the realisation last week that I definitely do NOT want to write a book! 

Every time I sat to do some writing for the book, since the workshop, I ended up writing a blog. It turns out I don’t want to have to plan and structure and think about topics. I prefer to just write whatever pops into my head on any particular day. Hence you never know what you’re going to get when you look at this page, it’s always a surprise .. for me as well! 

But having made the decision that I definitely do not want to write a book I feel a lot of relief. As one of my wise friends pointed out – the thing I would say to anyone else is ‘If it doesn’t feel good, stop doing it’. And writing a book did not feel good .. so I’ve stopped. Phew. But writing blogs does so I’ll keep on wittering away until they are no longer fun. 

We can easily get caught with ideas of things we think we WANT to do, not even that we should do. But it’s worth paying attention to how you feel when you are actually doing the thing. Does it feel enjoyable? Is it flowing? Do you get lost and end up spending more time than you realised? Do you look forward to it or feel frustrated when you haven’t manage to fit it in to your day? Any of those are hints that you are on the right path for you. Please like / share. Sue X