Rounding up the gremlins

Posted on by WritingfromtheheartwithBrian

I caught a glimpse of one of the gremlins out of the corner of my right eye and tried to give him a good whack with the back of my hand. Of course, he was too quick for me. He disappeared in a flash. When I looked back up five minutes later, I saw two more, just as fast and devilish as the first one.

When my life gets busy, I find that the little gremlins and fairies — you know what I mean, the mischievous little creatures that like to cause trouble — start to run rampant through my brain. Oh, I’m not talking about real creatures. No, no, I’m talking about the second guessing, frustration and worrying, and even exhaustion that we all fall prey to in our lives. If I let the gremlins get out of control, I find that I lose focus on what really matters in life.

When that happens, I have a funny way of getting back to ground zero. Some people practice self-care by hitting the gym or spa. Some spend time in meditation, going for a simple walk on the beach, or even talking to a friend or therapist. Mental health experts often suggest that a well balanced self-care program involves some type of mental, emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual, recreational, and social experience. 

Me? I give myself more work.

Back to basics

Here’s what I mean: When I hit a rough patch recently and found myself burning the proverbial candle from both ends and my work-life scale out of whack, I returned to a practice that seems to go against these pillars. My self-care was to get up at the crack of dawn, before the sun had even considered raising a crusty eyelid, and sat down at my laptop with a steaming cup of coffee and started writing.

When I need to get myself back in alignment, the thing that helps me the best is forcing myself back into a disciplined writing schedule to get my thoughts and ideas out of my brain and into the computer. The writing itself doesn’t even matter. Oh, I hope the words come out sounding like a mixture of William Shakespeare and Ernest Hemingway — wouldn’t that be amazing — but I’m really not all that focused on them. What matters is forcing myself to be creative and into the act of putting one word in front of the other.

I compare it taking a walk in the woods or up a mountain and forcing myself to take one step after another.

I’m not the only one

Writing is my release. I know that I’m talking to the choir here, a blogging community full of writers. In some ways, I find it silly to even write this post — you all know the importance of writing or you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog — but I find that it’s still important to say out loud, writing is important to who we are.

I found it interesting hearing my wife recently describe my need to write. My son asked where I was headed and she told him I was heading to my office to write. I wasn’t going to work there to answer emails, work, or ride on my bike. I was going there to write. She told him that I needed the chance to get a few thoughts down on paper and I “would be back to normal in no time.”

Yup, back to normal in no time. We all need time alone, to let our frustrations and vulnerabilities out in a safe place, whether we post them publicly in a blog or just keep them to ourselves. When I’ve done that, then I’m safe to put aside my worries and return to my natural self.

I think of it as catching my breath so that I can round up all the troublemaker gremlins and fairies and put them back in their cages. Yes, I don’t know about others, but for me, writing helps me to catch my breath.

……

I write more about self-care and writing, in my companion piece, In the Eye of the Hurricane, on my WordPress blog at Writing from the Heart with Brian. You can follow me on Instagram at @writingfromtheheartwithbrian.

All the best, Brian.

Images by David Gonzales by Pexels.

35 thoughts on “Rounding up the gremlins”

  1. Pingback: In the eye of the hurricane – Writing from the Heart with Brian

  3. I find that for me writing calls up more gremlins than it dispatches, but I still see the value that you find in writing as a regular practice. My mantra this summer has been, “Just keep writing,” and I believe that regular writing, however unsettling some of what I’ve written has been, has made me healthier, happier, and more at peace.

    Thank you for this great message.

    georgiakreiger.com

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  4. I have to handwrite three pages every morning to keep myself grounded. I started that practice from Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” ten years ago. On the off chance I don’t get the chance (which has rarely happened) I feel out of balanced.

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      1. I have stuck to three things: the morning pages, walk and prayer. I didn’t manage the artist’s date that often. I also didn’t complete all her exercises at the end of each chapter. But the parts I do, have helped me.

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      1. That’s it! I prefer to write my pages as soon as I wake up, but now they wait until after my early morning walk. Olive’s routine is to sit on my lap while I write and she tries to take over the pages of my journal with her paws.

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      2. I love that description of Olive. I can see why you’ve flipped the order – but I find changes like that sometimes unsettling. Glad you’ve made it work for you!

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  5. I think finding what helps and using that is the key Brian. You write this post with the conviction of someone who has found what works, just as you did on your personal blog post. Writing is deeply who you are and seeking that avenue especially during the crazy, tough, stressful times speaks to what you value about being a writer.

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  6. I’m not sure whether to call you William or Ernest but this is brilliant, Brian. I can so relate to the early morning practice of getting it out onto paper so that I can keep going. But you put such a great description to it, “What matters is forcing myself to be creative and into the act of putting one word in front of the other.” Yes! One word in front of another. Beautiful!

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  7. I wonder if there are a number of ways we use writing, meditation, exercise, and so forth. Is seems writing does what you want of it, Brian. If it calls you Captain, however, I’d be worried!

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  10. I love how your wife and family ‘get’ you. He’ll be normal again in no time…Dad just needs to get some things out of himself. Yes, yes. I understand that – and I love your imagery invoking gremlins and fairies vexing you. 😉

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  11. I love that you call this out after saying it probably doesn’t need called out: “writing is important to who we are.”

    The last several weeks, I’ve been remembering how important it is to me. For several years, I fell into barely writing, and thought that this barely-writing was consequence free. With every day I do now show up to write, even with gremlins present, I’m reminded … oh, right, this is in my soul!

    While it seems like the kind of thing a person wouldn’t be apt to forget, I did manage to do just that. I’m thus glad to see it spelled out right here, and feel the affirmation in that. Thank you!

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    1. Wow Deborah! What a great realization to come back to. I can relate. I’ve had my blog for a number of years, so I’ve been writing, but this year I made the commitment to post more on my site, and this one, the heart of the matter, and I’ve been amazed by how happy it’s made me. As you say, it’s helped me dig deep into my soul. I’ve been very grateful for the outlet. Thanks so much for sharing and good luck continuing to write on your journey!!!!

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  12. Those gremlins are truly annoying, especially the ones that cause chaotic thoughts and feelings of self doubt and anxiety. And like the gremlins in the movie, if you water them, they just multiply. So your strategy to focus on other things like work and reflective writing sound like a good approach to putting them back in their cages!

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  13. Pingback: Well Said Saturdays – July 15 – The Heart of the Matter

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