Hi, friends!

I was reading someone else’s newsletter yesterday where they mentioned how writers don’t particularly like writing as much as having written. I couldn’t relate more. Sometimes the process of actually sitting down and doing the work can feel excruciating. “What do I even talk about?” and “what’s the best way to communicate that with my readers?” are some of the bigger ideas I ponder. And once I have the ideas out on paper, it’s a process of nit-picking at words to make those ideas sound beautiful.

Writing makes me question the saying: “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” It’s a beautiful sentiment but I don’t always find it to be true. I think — the more you love something, the more involved in it you become, the more you ultimately want to work at that thing and are willing to go through the growing pains of evolving and becoming better at it — even when it isn’t easy.

Oftentimes it takes work. One of the biggest misconceptions about practicing your passion is that it should always feel good or be effortless. Sometimes you may have to fight with yourself to do it. The world is filled with temptations and distractions, all beckoning you not to do the work.

At this point in the newsletter, I’ve checked my phone a few times, gone to the bathroom, and starred longingly out my window. It often takes me hours to prepare these newsletters — not just because I get distracted, but because there’s a lot of effort that goes into them.

Yet, that feeling of having created something beyond me through words, and having the pleasure of sharing that with you is always worth it. Especially when I hear that you resonated with it or it inspired you. The “why” when it comes to doing what we love is what will keep us coming back to it, even when it’s so much easier to turn away and watch Netflix or something.

If you’ve been reading my newsletters for a while, you might recall how I went through a lot of different stages and challenges with staying creative and productive. I’ve taken breaks from creating, have come up with productivity challenges, attempted to redefine what it means to “work” so as to make it more fun — and simply waited for inspiration to strike.

While it’s perfectly normal for inspiration to ebb and flow, solely relying on a revelation to take action can be a cop-out. At least I’m recognizing where it has been for me. This idea that it should always be easy just isn’t true.

Sometimes this newsletter is the last thing I want to do, but once I begin to write and get into the flow — and especially once it’s finished — I feel a unique sense of accomplishment and relief.

Lately I’ve been working on a project that’s taking a lot more time and effort than I initially thought it was going to. But the eagerness to accomplish this thing and get it out to the world is far greater than my desire to check-out and chill.

I’ve come to a point where I can appreciate and participate in the actual grit it takes to expand into your calling. Showing up day after day, learning, and doing my best is the only way forward. The dedication itself actually is the inspiration I was looking for.

And when that isn’t enough, we can always find inspiration in the larger reason for attempting in the first place (the “why.”)

Being self-disciplined is not always in my nature, but the longing for freedom is. Freedom from a 9–5, from lackluster, from any restrictions on my desired lifestyle, and most importantly — from my own conceived notions of “what’s possible” — that’s something I’m willing to work for.

xxGabriela