Removing Obstacles and Following Dreams
Inspired by a recent comment, I've been reflecting again (Uh-oh is right)
Good morning everyone! (Unless you’re reading this at quite literally any other time of day than when it’s posted, in which case, hey, what’s up?)
I’ve really been enjoying leaning in more to the social aspects of writing.
Yes, it can be a bit daunting to try to find people who appreciate and resonate with your work when it means being vulnerable and actually showing it to those people, but that’s kind of the name of the game, right?
And low and behold, on a number of occasions these last few weeks, my efforts have panned out better than I could have imagined.
Instagram, through “Reels” specifically, has let me show my work to approximately 24,000 people over the last month. Sure, only 500 or so have followed me as a result, but hey, that’s a heck of a lot better than the 30 that followed me before I began taking it seriously and started to actively remove the little obstacles that I was letting get in my way.
It’s vulnerable - people are actually seeing me and evaluating my work on a much larger scale than I’m used to.
It’s difficult - learning new algorithms and social media cultures and posting cadences is not necessarily easy, but it sure beats posting to my little corner of the internet and waiting for people to stumble across my work.
And it takes constant reminders that it’s worth doing - this is the biggest piece for me.
I need to be reminded, usually by myself, that actively sharing is part of the process of growing any sort of audience or platform, and that I should be engaged with that process if I expect to see any sort of results.
For me, this block can be an obstacle, and it takes work and conscious decision-making to remove the block whenever it actually inhibits that work from getting done.
On a somewhat separate but related note, Substack Notes has been quite a journey in itself.
What I initially expected to just be a platform for self-promotion and little else has actually pleasantly surprised me, opening itself up to me as a platform that encourages open communication between creatives of all kinds.
People are supportive, conversational, and genuine. It’s pretty great to see.
Yes, there are plenty of people on there who see it as a marketing tool, (what social media isn’t?) but the genuine interactions almost make you forget that you maybe clicked on the app just to share your most recently published article.
I recently posted a picture of a lake that I was staying at, referring to it as “My writing spot for the evening,” to which I received the following reply.
I don’t know what it is about the reply, but it really made me think, so much so that I sat down to write this post.
Yes, it’s entirely possible that this reply was primarily a joke, but I believe that there are people out there who genuinely let these kinds of thoughts interrupt their workflow.
It can be incredibly difficult to stay motivated, especially when we let obstacles like our environment, or the mood or atmosphere knock us off our path.
Considering how many people have started working from home over the last few years, self-regulating motivating and work habits have likely become a hot topic of conversation, and I think it can be valuable to consider these obstacles not just in the moment-to-moment, but also on a larger scale.
Not to break the illusion too much, but when I took the photo, the wind was blowing incredibly hard, and I was only able to sit down and write maybe 12 lines of poetry before I had to relocate.
Yes, it was beautiful, but it was not my entire reality. That’s part of what social media is.
I’m as much of an advocate for being as honest with social media as the next person, which is why I think it can be important to break moments down like this whenever possible.
This is becoming a bit of a ramble, so what I will say is that we all have our obstacles. Many of them are entirely justified, and valid, and deserve to be taken with all the seriousness in the world, and some are just the little mistruths we tell ourselves to be able to procrastinate just a little longer.
It can be difficult, but it can also be incredibly valuable to take a hard look at those obstacles of yours, especially when they crop up regularly.
I’ll leave you here with a few journaling prompts for those who want to do a bit of guided thinking around this topic:
What are some of the obstacles that regularly interrupt your workflow? How can you address these obstacles more effectively?
How does your environment affect your creativity and productivity? Describe your ideal work environment.
Write about a perceived obstacle that you overcame. What steps did you take to realize it wasn't as big a hurdle as you initially thought?
If you have any thoughts on the topic and have the time to respond, the comments and replies are always open. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Or if you know anyone who would enjoy this post or the newsletter in general, send it their way. I’d be eternally grateful.
For now, have a great rest of the week. Talk soon!
I remember someone saying to me once action comes before motivation, which I have found to be so true. So even though I have perfect ideals of what my writing space might look like at any given time, it’s no longer an obstacle. The inspiration comes when the inspiration comes, voice notes to myself have become such a blessing!
I am glad that my comment could inspire this post. Writing and posting is always an ongoing conflict with my introvert self. Self-awareness has helped me not to fall prey to the lame excuses my mind comes up with and that helps to remove majority of the obstacles for me.