I have now written every single day for over 1000 days in a row.
Technically today I am on day 1120. I know, I should have done this on day 1000, but the amazing thing is that somewhere in the 400 – 500 range, it stopped being surprising that I was showing up. I even stopped talking about it on Social Media. (Can you imagine!?)
I am still doing it. I intend to keep doing it. I have now done it so long that it has become a part of who I am and what I do. It’s like brushing my teeth: it would feel too weird not to do it.
I have written about this before here and here, and I have talked about it on instagram and in my courses and offerings, but what I have discovered is that it all boils down to devotion*.
People ask me about it all of the time. Many say that they were inspired by my journey and that they are now on day ____, others just shake their heads and tell me that they ‘could never do that.’ To the first group, I grin and say, ‘YAY! YOU!’ To the second group, I just smile, because as long as they say that, it will be true for them (but I actually don’t believe them.)
You have it in you to believe in yourself and to devote yourself so something that matters. You do. You just have to pick something that really matters and then change your mind – one day at a time.
Here is what I have learned in 1000+ days of showing up for something that matters to me:
- You have to do something that matters to your soul. Showing up every day for anything not in alignment who Who You Are will be much much more difficult.
- Make it easy. You have to choose something that you can do without making it a big bloody deal. Creating any sorts of complications or fancy rituals or specific rules will just give you something to rebel against or use to make an excuse not to show up.
- You have to make it non-negotiable. This was a big piece for me. If you give yourself any way out, you’ll probably find it. I have shown up to write every day no matter what because that was the one boundary/ rule I set. (And this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do whatever it is every day. But the days you DO commit to showing up? Those have to be non-negotiable.)
- Equally, you have to focus on today. If you didn’t show up yesterday it can’t matter. Take the question of why you didn’t show up to your work, but show up today anyway. WAY too many dreams have been shelved because ‘I didn’t do it today/ yesterday/ the month/ this year so why bother?‘ I’ll tell you why: because it matters enough for you to want to do it and to come back to it over and over again. Just show up again today and then repeat that over and over and over again.
- Doing this will change everything. You will begin to see your own cycles and patterns and stories. You will bore yourself. You will surprise yourself. You will inspire yourself. You will then bore yourself all over again. This noticing of the patterns and the stories and the cycles will begin to change everything. Your perspective and your beliefs and your world will expand. Keep going.
My own 1000+ Days of Writing has brought me into a place where everything is magic. I can see stories and patterns and allies and a much, much bigger picture. I can also confidently call myself a Writer, because I show up every day to write. That alone is worth the journey of the past three years.
What calls your soul? What do you want to call yourself? What wants to come through you? Start today. Show up. See what happens.
*I have created a 48+ page workbook that will help you get really clear on your own 1000 Days Project (or 100 Days Project, or simply your Soul Work). It is a gift for my newsletter subscribers. So if you are interested in going on this journey and starting with a bit of help and a bit of inspiration and a lot of clarity, just click here to join my newsletter list.
With so much love,
