Ikigai Thought for Today: To Not Be Writing

The pain of not doing what we are called to do.

Audio narration by David Marlow

Photo by Daria Kraplak

Today’s thought is a live audio riff, where I share my thoughts in real-time. You can listen to the audio or read the transcription below.

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It's been weird for me these past few weeks since I finished my book, and by weird I mean it's almost like January after Christmas. If you're really into Christmas and everything was great and you had a fabulous season, then it just turns even colder and darker in January, at least here in Wisconsin.

Decorations are down, the presents have been opened, it's sort of like, what's next? I feel like that a little bit with my writing.

I was having a conversation a few days ago with my friend and mentor, and he mentioned to me, "You're quite the prolific writer, it's impressive."

And I thought about that and I have written quite a bit over the past three years. For example, according to Grammarly, I've written something close to 10 million words.

In fact, realizing that I was at 5 million words was what prompted me to write a book because the average nonfiction book is 60 to 70 thousand words.

My book, The Ikigai Way, is just over 60,000 words. And I thought, I've written millions of words, but none of them are in any sort of permanent form like a book.

It sparked both my drive to do it then, and thankfully, the opportunity came at just the right moment to actually write the book as well.

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And for me, writing is both a calling and a contradiction. I like what Fran Lebowitz said:

It's very psychically wearing not to write. I mean, if you're supposed to be writing.

There's a saying that singers love to sing and writers love to have written.

I often apply that to my running. Sometimes I'm the singer loving to run, sometimes I'm the writer loving to have run. When it comes to my writing though, I get the writer's love to have written thing.

There is something akin to physical pain when I'm not writing, and yet even more at times while I'm writing.

It's psychically draining not to be doing what we're supposed to be doing, whatever that something is. In the end for me, I think it's writing.

But I want you to think about, as your ikigai thought for today, what is that for you? What is psychically draining when you're not doing it? And what do you need to do about that?

Today at least, I love to have written.

Quest well.