01/05/2023
January is the only month supercharged with the expectations of a whole year. Limitless possibilities weighed down by the drag of history, personal and universal. Turning the calendar allows us to put to bed the past year and start the new one with a clean slate. Atop the slate is the big question, “What are you doing?” followed immediately by, “What do you want to be doing?” Not to mention the corollary existential questions of “Who am I?” and “Who do I want to be?” All these questions are tied together, especially for someone who wants to finally commit to writing a book and becoming a published author.
Begin the new year by envisioning holding your finished book in hand—that’s the dream. To move from dream to reality, now is the time to set goals, implement strategies to reach those goals, and dive in. Tradeoffs are part of achieving a balance between writing and your personal and professional lives. But with these challenges you must ask yourself, “Am I satisfied not writing the book? Will I regret it if I don’t? Could I have made a difference by publishing my book?”
No matter who you are, where you live, what language you speak, what culture you come from, how old you are, what you may have accomplished so far in life, if you want to write a book, write it. That decision doesn’t require you to quit your day job, run off to a monastery, or sacrifice everything on some literary altar. But given that time is finite, you can’t be doing too many other things while writing your book. You may be able to combine commuting to work, or walking your dog, or some other activities and writing. To give it your best, though, you have to carve out time to write every day, sacrificing other activities to pursue your dream.
You don’t have to wait until the book is finished to say you did what you wanted to do. You already are when you sit down and start typing the words. The choice is yours, so is the commitment. At the end of the year, what do you want to say you accomplished? Whether writing a book or running a marathon, start this week and don’t give up.