Where are you and where do you want to be?

Anyone who has taken on the enormous task of writing a book knows that it takes every ounce of yourself (at least that was my experience.)

Perhaps it depends on the subject matter, but the story I chose to tell was deeply personal. It became my obsession, and I held on to it with a grip so tight I often got lost within myself.

 It was my story, and it consumed me.

I wrote every single day and wrote with a purpose. I knew exactly where it would begin, what I needed to share to tell the full story, and how it would end.

The emotional roller coaster of writing, editing, editing some more, and editing again was often too much to bear, but I held on. Determined to do the one thing I had always wanted to do— to publish a book.

What kept me going was knowing there was going to be an end to it. Once it was published, I could close that chapter of my life so to speak. (Marketing and promoting the book is an entirely different journey altogether, and not a fun one at that!)

However, now that the book has been published, I find myself languishing.

Searching to find my next project when my head is full of discarded ideas is frustrating. I’m happiest when I’m writing yet I’m struggling to land in a place that feels like home.

My book was part memoir and part self-help. I enjoy writing the truth, and creative non-fiction is comfortable yet where do I go from here when there are so many options?  

I’m drowning in information.

As a perpetual student, I’ve always prided myself on my thirst for knowledge, but now it’s a place I’ve come to dread. Don’t get me wrong—studying and researching has served me well and led me to write, finish, and publish my book—but now I know I’m stuck.

I’m stuck in passive action.

I think and dream of writing continuously. I read everything I can about writing, editing, publishing, and marketing books. I’m active on social media and try to be engaging as possible (which is difficult at the best of times for a self-absorbed introvert like myself.)

I spend too much time writing posts only to abandon them, reading and commenting on other people’s posts, and coming up with ideas for posts. It feels like I’m going nowhere.

Hours spent in passive action has cast me adrift.

What I’ve realized is that I need to take massive action. I need to stop spinning my wheels with passive action and commit to writing a book again. I need to move towards something and write with a purpose—with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

There’s a big difference between passive action and massive action.

Passive Action – Reading, researching, planning, and goal setting. Consuming information feels like we’re moving towards something, but that’s only true if we don’t languish there too long.

Massive Action – Physically moving towards and reaching a goal. Creating something from time spent in passive action and getting results.

Many of us spend a great deal of time in passive action. It’s a safe place to be because it ‘feels’ like we’re doing something without actually stepping out of our comfort zone.

We read self-help books without doing the work and post life-changing quotes and memes yet never do what we encourage others to do. We believe we’re doing something, but few of us will move from passive action. Perhaps we don’t want to risk failing because let’s face it; there’s always some risk with massive action.

But here’s the thing, how many of us will never achieve something we’ve dreamed of doing? How many of us read and research but don’t go any further? How many of don’t want to risk failing?

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.” ~ John F. Kennedy

I want that feeling of writing with purpose again. It’s a feeling I can only get from writing a book, so it’s time for me to move from passive action and jump into massive action. I’m ready to take my seat on the emotional roller coaster, strap myself in and hold on for dear life. How about you?

Are you stuck in passive action or are you taking massive action to reach your goals?

Tags: Fear, massive action