All Hail The Tortoise

A friend shared a quote with me by Malcolm Gladwell which seemed poignant when I considered my own writing endeavours and the paralyzing writer's block that has accompanied them. I would like to share that quote with you. He said:

"I deal with writer’s block by lowering my expectations. I think the trouble starts when you sit down to write and imagine that you will achieve something magical and magnificent—and when you don’t, panic sets in. The solution is never to sit down and imagine that you will achieve something magical and magnificent. I write a little bit, almost every day, and if it results in two or three or (on a good day) four good paragraphs, I consider myself a lucky man. Never try to be the hare. All hail the tortoise."

This resonates with me in a way that I don't think I could have really understood a year ago. Sure, I would have nodded with an affectation of knowing approval, but in my head I would have thought it a platitude.

But I think I get it now, and that's why I've started this blog and why I am now attempting to update it regularly. Frequency is the key, here, as the quote above says. I must resist the need for instant perfection (which is really just gratification) and lower expectations. Humility and patience are needed. Who knew?