“Hey Ollin, I’ve recently lost my excitement for life and/or writing. What should I do?”

Is life not exciting for you at the moment?

Oh, then you must have skipped last week’s Charlie Rose where he interviewed a 90-year old Harvard biologist (who was wearing bug-eye spectacles and a bow tie) about the mating habits of South African fire ants. During the interview–you won’t believe this but–the table that usually separates Charlie from his guests was slightly less polished than it usually is, and there was a thrilling moment when the cloak of darkness which usually surrounds both Rose and his guests–making it seem as if they’re in the back room of an Amish funeral parlor–was briefly illuminated by a glare of light coming from the off-camera studio bathroom!!!

It was… Ah. Mah. Zhing. Oah mah gahd.

Nah, just kidding.

Sometimes both life and the writing process can lose a lot of their excitement, I know.

So what do you do when that happens?

(You don’t watch an episode of Charlie Rose, that’s for sure.)

You do this:

1. Do Something Bold

Have you ever said the following to someone else:

“Oh, I wish I could do that but I______.”

For example: “I wish I could run a marathon, but I’m too fat.” or “I wish I could finish my novel, but I’m too terrible of a writer,” or “I wish I had the courage to stand up to my mean aunt, but I’m too much of a coward.,” etc. etc.

Okay, now that you have lost excitement for life, you will no longer be saying that. Instead, you will be saying something different:

“Oh, I wish I could do that–and you know what? I’m going to be bold and do it.”

That’s right, you are going to start to commit to doing all the things you “wish” you could do.

This what is called “being bold,” and this will bring excitement back into your life.

“Oh, Ollin, but I could fail! I could look like a fool! I could lose! I could get hurt!”

Oh okay. Play it safe, then. Don’t be bold. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.

But then don’t complain that your life is not exciting. Because one of the keys to making your life more exciting is going out and taking risks, and doing things, and trying to make dreams happen. Continue reading →