I’m taking a break …

“I’m tired of blogging”

I texted my friend Ingrid Riley, my go-to advisor on all things digital.

“Well stop” she replied in a voice note, her tone strident in its instruction.

So I did. I emailed Silke, who posts my blogs, to let her know I am taking a break from blogging.

But this morning, I woke up and thought that I should let you, my loyal subscribers and readers, know.

I have released blogging for awhile.

Why? Because I am not feeling the joy and inspiration.

For how long? I don’t know.

What will I do instead? I don’t know.

I felt liberated once I made the decision. I feel free to sit and relish the space of not knowing. Into this space will emerge guidance. Of that I am sure.

By the way, this has happened to me before, and I wrote about it in a 2014 blog:

When Writers Can’t Write And Leaders Can’t Lead

Perhaps you had a stray thought over the last 2 weeks “But what happened to Marguerite’s newsletter”? You would be right to wonder, for this is my first “fortnightly” newsletter in a month. I ran into writer’s block, along with the gamut of emotions – guilt, anger, worry, fear. And then I decided to relax, go with the flow and see what happened. I decided to make it a learning experience.

Digging deep, I discovered that my case of writer’s block was mental. I am currently enrolled in a Creative Writing course that whilst enjoyable, has me questioning my writing at a much deeper level. How weird that is – to not write because I am afraid of not writing well. However, once I identified the cause of my writer’s block, I was motivated to write, starting with this newsletter.

Just like “writer’s block” we have “leaders’ block” – those times when we just don’t have the energy and motivation to motivate others. This may occur for a number of reasons:

1. We are physically tired. Perhaps we have not been getting enough restful sleep, regular, invigorating exercise or nutrition. We may even be ill, and our “leader’s block” is a symptom of something more serious in our physical health.
2. We are emotionally drained.
3. We are mentally challenged.

Don’t fight your leader’s block; dig deep to discern the root cause. It could be a time for great learning and growth. Digging deep is in and of itself action. Because once you have found the root cause, you are empowered to address it.