The fear of doing nothing

May 19, 2014

“Work finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.” – Alain de Botton

I will not be the first person to tell you that writers are inveterate procrastinators. Writing is a mentally taxing endeavor, and getting started is often the most difficult part.

But here’s how I know I’m a writer, and likely always will be – I get antsy when I don’t write. I write every day because that’s the best way I know to get things done, but it’s also because when I miss a day, I feel weird. The fear of doing nothing grows within me, until now when I can hardly take a day off. I’d rather work. Wouldn’t you, when your work is fun?

Cultivate this insanity. It’s natural to be afraid of letting your perfect idea out into the imperfect world, but far worse is the regret of doing nothing.