How Your Writing Projects Are Just Like Your Gym Membership

People who don't do it make excuses about why they can't.

Everyone can benefit from it.
Everyone does it a little differently.
Everyone can get better at it.
There is a whole subculture built around it.Some people have to pay to do it.
Some people have professional support.
Some people can make money doing it.
Fewer people can make a career out of it.
A handful of people can become millionaires doing it.

The preceding statements apply whether you are talking about writing or exercise. While there might not be a lot overlap between members of each community, they both share a common goal; self improvement. The major difference between the obsessive writer and the gym rat is the level of frustration that writers seem to carry around. (See The Benefits of Rejection)

Common Ground

Everyone who exercises on a regular basis can improve their health and overall life experience. They find the routine that works for them. They can connect with the fitness community. They can join a gym and get a trainer. Some of them will make extra money by entering competitions or becoming an amateur athlete. A few of them will make fitness a career as a personal trainer or professional athlete. A select few will become mega stars selling exercise programs or landing mega contracts. There are many places fitness can take you, but the core benefits are the same.

Everyone who writes on a regular basis can improve their creativity and overall life experience (See the Other Benefits of Independent Publishing). They find the routine that works for them. They can connect with the writing community. They can join a writing group and get an editor. Some of them will make extra money by entering competitions or publishing a book or two. A few of them will make writing a career publishing independently or traditionally. A select few will become mega stars on the best sellers list or landing mega contracts. There are many places writing can take you, but the core benefits are the same.

Seeing Success

What makes your exercise experience successful? Does it make sense for people to stop exercising because they can't get a flawless body immediately? If only a small group of people appreciate your new body, does that make the effort pointless? If you didn't invent P90x or Cross Fit, does that mean that your years of exercise were wasted? If you never get to quit your job so you can spend all day at the gym, does that mean there was no point going to the gym? Clearly, the logical answers to all these questions is no.

Why is writing so different? Does it make sense to see your writing as a failed experiment if you don't have an "overnight best seller"? If only a small group enjoys your work, does that diminish its value (See Champions, Tastemakers and True Fans)? If you're not the author of Fifty Shades or Harry Potter, does that mean you can't write? If you are never going to be able to quit your day job and spend the whole day writing, does it makes sense to stop writing and go do something else? For me the answer to all these questions is the same as the answer to the questions about exercise.

In past essays, I've argued that a successful writer is one whose writing broadens their mental horizon, or increases their financial status or widens your social circles or improves the quality of your life over time. (See How Do You Define a Successful Writer?) A few writers will get all of these things. Most of us will only get a couple. That's fine. I might be unfairly depicting both the writing and fitness communities. Maybe most writers don't obsess about sales and reviews. Maybe gym rats spend all their time trying to invent the next Taebo. If so, I am happy to be wrong. If not, then there might be something that the writers can learn at the gym.

Have fun.
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