What If You Stopped?: A Guided Reflection for Writers and Creative Souls

Daily Nourishment Read Time: 45 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes


Pause.

Take three deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale. Then set a timer for two minutes and close your eyes and rest.

 

Prompt.

Make a list of 10 things you could quit. You aren’t committing to stopping anything. You’re just listing things you could stop doing if you ever decide you want to quit doing anything you’re currently doing.

 

Practice.

Set a timer for 10 minutes and take notes on things you’ve quit and haven’t quit over the past few years.

—What have you quit and why?
—What did you quit that you didn’t want to quit?
—How do you decide when to quit and when not to quit?
—How are you different after you quit?
—What have you learned from quitting and not quitting?

If you like, use your notes to begin a new poem, story, essay, or letter to a friend.

Want More?
Read
from My Life: Reason looks for two, then arranges it from there” by Lyn Hejinian

*

Become an SDW Insider and reserve your copy of Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life AND receive access to the All of Life Is the Writing Life Deep Dive online course—a preorder perk that explores how the mantra “All of life is the writing life” shows up in the Spiritual Direction for Writers book.

SDW Book Notes—A place for book preorder links, updates, resources, notes, and musings

Flourish Anyway with Rhythms, Rituals, & Retreats

Pre-Order the Take More Retreats anthology

Pre-Order The Great Belonging Project


Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.

*Please help us protect our intellectual property, our creative process, and the integrity of our work. Spiritual Direction for Writers® Daily Nourishment is covered under the Spiritual Direction for Writers® trademark. You are welcome to share this link with others, but any other use (written or spoken) is prohibited without written permission from Charlotte Donlon.


 
Previous
Previous

All of Life Is the Writing Life: A Guided Practice for Writers

Next
Next

What You Call Work I Make Beautiful Again: A Writing Exercise with a Poem by Ashley M. Jones and Art by Romare Bearden