Week 2. Day 3. What are your roles?

You’re a friend, a family member, a worker, a cook, a homemaker, a surfer, a runner, a breadwinner, a community member, a lobbyist, a volunteer….

 

And you’re a creator. An artist.

 

We all have many roles in our lives. And sometimes they can jostle for attention. A few years ago, one of my sisters was feeling overwhelmed and couldn’t see why. Now, my sister is an immensely capable person, the kind who juggles all the plates and then serves up a three-course meal on the unbroken, juggled crockery. So, admitting to overwhelm was rare. In the middle of our conversation, she said, “I wonder how many roles I have in my life?”

 

I wonder. That beautiful magic phrase that precedes every discovery or act of creation.

 

Together we sat down and made a list of her many roles (mother, grandmother, aunt, trainer, midwife, spouse, carer, coordinator, pet owner, homeowner, team member, landlord, traveller… you get the picture.) There were around fifteen categories on that list, each category with its own list of demands and responsibilities. To be honest, I felt exhausted just looking at it.

 

We all have multiple roles in our lives. And those roles may change from month to month or year to year, taking up more or less space. It can be easy to relegate the role of ‘Writer’ or ‘Creator’ to the bottom of the pile.

 

Today, I invite you to take some time to reflect on the roles you have in your life – mother, father, sister, brother, worker, employer, employee, gardener, support person, coach, business owner, artist, writer, promoter, cheer squad.

 

Begin, as always, with curiosity. Get curious about what roles you play in your life. Make a list. Or a graph or a picture, if that floats your boat. Then, see if you can consolidate some of the roles (perhaps the role of sister, aunt, daughter could become one role: family; or the role of cook, cleaner, decorator, project manager could become ‘homemaker’).

 

So maybe now you have six roles, or ten. Step your curiosity up a notch. Can you list these roles in order of priority? Perhaps some of your roles might take the lead this week or this month, while others will step up later in the year.

 

But where is ‘writer’ or ‘creator’ on that list? What would take up the most space if you were to create a pie chart made of these roles (and, you know what, why not do that? With coloured marker pens if you have them. And glitter.)

 

Is there anything you can you do, to allow that creative role to take up a little more space?

 

Then, looking just at that role of writer or creator, ask yourself what your intention is over the next three months. Think forward, imagine the you of the future (just three months in the future, we don’t need to get too ahead of ourselves right now!) – how do you want to be as a writer? What do you want to be doing as a creator? And then, what do you want to have?

 

You know what writers are really good at? Imagining. This is our superpower, and it’s one we can use when we think about harnessing our own selves. We can use it for comfort, for solace, for possibility. In this context, I’m suggesting that in the same way you imagine yourself into the skin of a fictional character, you can also imagine yourself into your own future. You can create a future memory.

 

Think of the creator you are. Three months from now. Write in present tense, as though you are there, already, living it:

 

Three months from now…

 

(Be) I am restored in my creative instinct, replenished and connected with my own vision; I am immersed in my novel and excited to be at the page each day. I am part of a community of writers.

 

(Do) I write each morning in my journal and spend half an hour editing my novel each evening. I read each evening.

 

(Have) I have ten thousand words written. I have edited a chapter.

 

And then you might want to find one focus goal for your writing role. Just one.

 

Maybe it’s connected to that first question: what can you do to make that role take up more space? Maybe it’s a direct outcome. Or perhaps it’s more of an intention, a direction you want to be heading in.

Some examples: 

• In three months, I have written a very rough draft of my novel.
• I show up every day to write.
• I’m part of a writing community

 

 Choose one ‘writing life’ goal to focus on for the next three months. Write it on a card and keep it somewhere you can see it regularly.

Allow your present self to honour your commitment to your future self. You’ll both be glad you did.