It happens to everyone.
One moment you are sailing along, at the top of your game, and you hit the doldrums.
The doldrums is not just a colloquial saying, it is also a place located between 5° north and 5° south of the equator. It is also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ.
It is a place that sailors dread because they can become trapped there for days, or even weeks, waiting for the wind to pick up again and sail on.
Call it writers block, or even laziness, but every person – no matter how prolific – has periods where they are just too tired, too busy or too lazy to move forward.
Many people have quit because they have lost the passion, and still other forge on through the doldrums out of sheer willpower and responsibility. By doing this, they eventually paddle their way out of the windless place that stymies creative thought.
Last April, Andrea Goulet created a list of 50 Ways to Immediately Combat Writer's Block – obstensibly to combat her own writer's block that day I imagine. Her suggestions are helpful, I suggest you go there and read them if you have a minute.
But here is the most effective way to get out of a slump – to remember what first sparked the passion for writing about something that you love.
Passion: For me it was always about sharing.
I am passionate about communication, about ethics and about building authentic relationships with stakeholders. Lately, I have been doing this in my work and feel like I am lucky to be doing exactly what I love and what I have preached here for over three years now. This month marks the three year birthday for Communication Overtones, and it has been a wonderful ride.
I believe the key for me to break my own ho-hum doldrum is to focus on sharing my passion for great communication. Also, to ask you what you want to hear and deliver that.
Like my friend Todd Defren once said, never retire, but do take a break.
And always remember that participating in an online community of thinkers and friends is more of a marathon than a sprint.
Have you ever hit the doldrums, either at work or in social media, and what did you do to get over it?
Photo Credit: “Fill Daminit” is by Chris Clayson
