Commitment

It was ‘late’ when I realized I wanted to be a writer, and then it took more time to act on that realization. Because it wasn’t that I didn’t know what it meant to be a writer. I didn’t know what it took to be a writer. And when I imagined what a writing life looked like, I immediately thought about Stephen King, Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, and Iris Murdoch (among others). These writers defined writing because they were successful. It took me a while to understand what they gave to reach the pinnacle of their careers: commitment.

Commitment is Key

In his book, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, Mason Currey offers a good introduction to how various artists and creators have demonstrated commitment to their craft. Currey examines people’s routines that not only exemplified their commitment but, ultimately, made them relentless and great. Toni Morrison, for example, for the longest time wrote fiction in the evening, then switched to morning writing.¹ Stephen King writes every day until he meets his quota of two thousand words.² Maya Angelou was never able to write at home and rented a hotel room, and usually stayed there until 2:00 pm.³

Routine Matters

As most people know, I am most creative in the early morning hours when the rest of the world (or at least most the Eastern Time Zone) is still asleep. My first task is always my Morning Pages, then I try to get in a workout or run. After that, I work on the day’s writing project—a novel, short story or blog post. Sometimes I’m getting new words down, other times I’m editing or proofreading. This is my most creative time, or my ‘biological prime time.’⁴ Yes, routine keeps me grounded and helps me do the work.

The Power of Commitment

In our fast-paced, 24/7, always-on world, there are many things challenging our commitment to our goals and dreams. Family. Friends. Work. Social media. Even our health. Remember, as Tim Grover explains in Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable, that “part of the commitment to hard work is knowing what you have to give up to do the work…learning to control whatever pulls you away from your mission.” ((Grover, T. (2013). Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable, New York, Scribner, p. 170.)

Let me remind you today that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And you don’t need anyone’s permission to be—wholly and unapologetically—who you are.

1. Currey, M. (2018). Daily Habits: How Artists Work, New York, Alfred A Knopf, p. 62. [↩]
2. Curry, M., p. 224. [↩]
3. Curry, M., p. 122. [↩]
4. Our ‘biological prime time’ is a term coined by Sam Carpenter, author of Work the System. I learned about this concept through Chris Bailey’s book, The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy (p. 46). [↩]