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This week’s chapter in On Being a Writer talks about making a choice to limit yourself to one major activity. The basic premise is, if you want to succeed in a given field, you need to make a choice as to what that field will be. You can’t be highly successful in two fields at once.
That makes sense to me you know? At least for the most part. I’ve heard about people who can do a great job at for instance running a business and also be a solidly good tennis player. Yet at the same time, the best tennis players, focus on their game to the downplay of everything else.
How to Choose
It’s not easy to choose you know? What if you have two loves? Or you have a crazy busy life filled with things you love to do? The bible tells us that a man can’t have two loves…you either love him or you don’t. Having divided loyalties means we can’t excel at loving the one thing we need to love.
Some practicalities might help though.
Make a list of all the things you love. Decide if they are “must do’s”, “like to do’s” or “necessary do’s”. Once you have that list, narrow down the must do’s to the one thing that is your passion. Make anything else secondary. Focus on that love. Do it to the best of your ability.
Never let your “one thing” be your only thing
Remember to keep your other interests alive. If you choose to be a writer, but also have a love of bunnies, love your bunnies too! 🙂 If you like to paint, paint. Just remember it’s not your first love, it’s not your focal point but an off-shoot of a life well lived. Those off-shoots in your life just broaden the scope of your main love.
Be Prepared for Change
Let’s say the choice you make is to be a writer. Your writing will be different when you are in your 20’s than when you are in your 30’s, 40’s or 70’s. The events you experience in your life will change the way you write. The trips you experience, the children you may raise, the people you let into your life, all these things will mold you. They will effect your outlook on life and as your perspective changes, so will your writing.
The events you experience in your life will change the way you write. The trips you experience, the children you may raise, the people you let into your life, all these things will mold you. Click To TweetConsider well the things you do. See how they make you a better writer. Enjoy them, use them, be changed by them. Let your writing become broader and richer as a result.
I’ve never thought of making my writing a sole focus and having my other hobbies not be as high up on the priority list. I totally agree it’s important to focus on one area and get good at that one thing. This is definitely something I’ll be thinking about!
It is definitely something to consider especially if you want to improve your skills
I like the idea of focusing on one thing, but I also like the idea of becoming a polymath — well-versed in many things at the same time. I’ve filled my life with a lot of projects and sometimes they do vie for attention. For me, it’s a matter of prioritizing like you said.
it would be lovely to be well versed in many things… like a renaissance man/woman. But I think to get to be well-versed, one does go through seasons of focusing on an area to gain proficiency and then maintains that as they add something new. What do you think?
It really is important to focus primarily on one thing. I like how you explained things here, that we don’t have to give up the things we love entirely, but to limit the choices so we can truly focus and be productive.
thank you, so nice to have you stop by. 🙂
Interesting insights with this one and focusing on particular words. Focus, influence, prioritize – these are things we have to do with all areas of our life. And all things should be allowed to interest others. Our lives are not compartmentalize, as much as we might wish they were sometimes.
Oh it is. Every area needs to be looked at in our lives. I used to compartmentalize my life really well… and then God intervened. And like God is my first love, but that doesn’t mean I can’t love and appreciate the things he’s put in my life. Learning to put a focus on my writing doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy all the other things in my life as well. 🙂