How to avoid getting stuck in the mud

Today I went on a writing retreat. I say ‘went’, but what I actually mean is I ‘went’ into the spare room, dotted a few plants around the place, fired up my diffuser and settled in for a day of writing. There were 13 of us retreating at home, and despite the geographical separation the connection in the group was just gorgeous.

As I settled into my space I knew what I wanted to create and was eager to get going. Notebook, pen, chocolate and teapigs at the ready.

After five hours I’d scribbled 8 pages of A4. I’d love to be able to end that sentence with ‘which felt great’. But if I said that, I’d be lying. It was a wonderful day, but what I had to show for it didn’t feel great at all.

Here’s the thing.

Sometimes we put in the time and we do the work and we’re not entirely happy with the outcome.

When that happens to you, how do you respond?

Do you consider it a complete waste of time and feel utterly disheartened and frustrated? Or are you able to take a wider view?

At the end of our day writing together we were given the prompt, “what I’m taking from this retreat is…”

My response reflected on the fact that sometimes we have to wade through the mud to find the treasure.

We have to get that first, often excruciating, layer of not-quite-rightness out of the way before we can get to the gold.

Sure, sometimes we might be feeling particularly inspired and land on fabulousness first time. But more often than not it can take a bit of uncovering.

When that happens it’s very easy to believe we’ve been unproductive. To berate ourselves for a wasted day. But what if you could accept that sometimes those days of mud-wading are a necessary part of the process?

Just because what I created during that retreat didn’t feel complete or useable, doesn’t mean it was a waste of time or without value. Far from it! That day of intense writing and focus provided me with insights and ideas that I could return to, play with and put out in the world later (this blog, for example!).

It’s not always easy, but just imagine how much angst we’d avoid if we could learn to be ok with our shitty first attempts at greatness.

And once we can relax and let go of needing to get it right first time, who knows? Instead of getting stuck in the mud, perhaps our trust that we’re moving closer to the treasure will help us find our way to it with greater ease.

Want to avoid getting stuck in the mud?

• Keep your purpose in mind, so you know what you’re aiming for (whether that’s your Big Why, or what you’re aiming to achieve with this particular piece of work – it works either way!)

• Keep an eye out for perfectionism, making sure it doesn’t grab your ankles and stop you from moving forward.

• Keep focused on the next tiny thing you can do to move you forward

• Keep putting one welly-booted foot in front of the other.

Need a little help?

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