Prolonged
confusion and Instinctive willfulness:
Neither of these states is comfortable. Both create conflict and
discord. Both are destructive to your peace of mind and your ability
to write. But at the same time, neither is intentional and so they
are difficult to fight. They have their source in conflicting needs
or wants. This contest can involve another person, but this blog
refers to these states as internal.
Be Reactive:
Choose how you react! The first step is to identify the opposing
forces. Usually one side is easy to identify while the other is more
difficult to name. Simply putting a face to the two forces can ease
some of your tension. Depending on the problem, it may even solve
the problem because you may see a clear “right” answer. You
have a future and keeping in mind where you want to be in five or
twenty years with your writing may also solve the problem. But
other times it is not so easy.
Be
Proactive:
Change how you act! Now that you have identified the competing
needs, think of how you can meet each need. These paths may seem
mutually exclusive. No wonder you are feeling confused or stubborn!
List the benefits and drawbacks to following each course of action.
Then look at the benefits of both and look for a third course of
action that can give you all the benefits. Another person's opinion
can be very helpful here because you are in turmoil and may not be
able to look at the problem objectively. If a third path cannot be
found, go back to the cost-benefit analysis, keeping in mind the
personal factors such as conscience and intuition. It may be that
you want to take the easier path but the harder path is the one that
is more “true to you”.
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