Perseverance: Stick to What You Love Even When it's Hard

I’ve written about writer’s block before. I haven’t experienced it on a large scale since I wrote that article. It all seemed to flow after I wrote about the block I was experiencing and how it turned out to be more of a mental problem rather than a lack of ideas. As I sit here now, however, I find myself blocked. I don’t know how realistic this fear is, but I am afraid that I may have exhausted all the possible content I could come up with that surrounds my blog’s general theme. Could it be in my head, as most writer’s block tends to be? Absolutely. But I’d be lying if being blocked like this after having so much content flow so easily in the last few months didn’t scare the hell out of me.

My computer is full of documents like this, random thoughts coursing through my head and to my fingers and ultimately finding their way to the once-blank page. The blank page used to torment me, only serving to exacerbate the lack of publishable progress. Now it isn’t necessarily the blank page that gets me; it’s more fear of running out of things to say.

I started my blog thinking I would always be able to come up with something to add to it based on my experiences. I suppose that was an unrealistic expectation, and I am beginning to regret placing that burden on myself. It’s possible the pressure of trying always to have something to say is causing the flow of ideas to be blocked somehow. But as it often does, thinking about the presence of writer’s block and trying to write my way out of it has gotten me thinking.

I’ve hinted at perseverance in other content that I’ve written, but I’ve never covered it exclusively. Funny how a battle with writer’s block–or what my mind calls writer’s block,anyway–can turn into something respectable if you keep at it long enough. The same can be said for life in general.

If you were to find anyone that practiced orthopedic medicine in the late 80’s and early 90’s, a number of them (with one notable exception being a man I’ve mentioned in a previous entry) would probably wonder how on God’s green earth I’m walking, much less functioning to the degree that I am. I had a lot of help and support, that I will not deny. But perseverance played an instrumental role in how I got from there to here.

I’ve mentioned the progression of my…recovery…I guess you could call it that, all the way from the wheelchair to walking unassisted and doing fairly well at it considering. It didn’t come easy, and it didn’t happen without some bumps in the road and me wanting to give up at times. As much I hated to admit it then, I couldn’t have done it alone.

I haven’t always had the capacity to give my parents the respect and credit they deserve for their part in me becoming the man I am today. But they say wisdom comes with age, and while I’m not old by any stretch (at least not yet), I have enough experiences behind me to appreciate where I came from.

I always thought my condition–I won’t call it a disability anymore–would keep me from going any farther than I’ve already made it. I’ll never forget the way I felt at the beginning of 2017 when a woman I had dated for almost a year suddenly told me she could do better. Hindsight tells me that at the time, she was right. But when I think about that situation, I find myself thinking about something else she said during our relationship. She mentioned her admiration for the fact that I didn’t allow my condition to define me. Though it began to do exactly that after we broke up, it was by my actions alone and was the product of a deep depression. I suppose I should thank her, as that complementary phrase she uttered almost seven years ago inspired the name of this blog. Life is funny sometimes, isn’t it?

This was a post I felt like I labored through a little. But I guess it’s part of the process. Nothing worth doing is easy. You know you love something and you “get buzzed’ on it as Stephen King once said about the craft of writing, when you find yourself pushing yourself through when it’s hardest. That’s writing for me, but it could be anything depending on what your passion is. My piece of advice for you today is simple: If you’re doing something you love to do and it leaves a void when you’re not doing it, keep at it even when it’s not easy. There will be roadblocks and bumps in the road. Don’t let them define your journey.