Earlier today, I met with a coaching client of mine. She spoke about her experience as she's making writing into a daily practice. She also alluded to an intention she spoke of the last time we met, that she'd do some work with her website, "...but I didn't do that," she said.
I can see a growing energy as her practice develops. Already, there's more flow, less struggle. There's a spaciousness as she meets herself where she is. It's all really good stuff.
I said to her, "It can be really easy to imagine a version of ourselves that's further down the path than where we are now, and then compare our current selves to that image, see that we aren't there yet, and then beat ourselves up over it. In doing so, we can diminish in our own eyes the genuine value of the work we are doing."
"It's a process," I said. "Give it space to develop. Be gentle with yourself."
After our meeting, I turned back to my own work and the bit I'm struggling with. I picked myself up by the lapels and shook myself, scolding, "Why are you still struggling to create a less-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach to publishing?"
Umm...