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If you travel the Internet at all, you’ve probably encountered the strange word NaNoWriMo. As you may have guessed, it’s an abbreviation, a krasis if you will, of November is National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is an organization and a group of people who commit themselves to writing 50,000 words of fiction - the equivalent of a short novel - in the month of November. If you succeed in doing this, you “win.”

I’m a winner from 2006 and I highly encourage anyone with the slightest interest in improving their writing or creative skills to sign up and participate.

Why Would I Want to Do That To Myself?
It may sound intimidating to write 50,000 words in 30 days, but really it’s only 1667 words per day.

Okay, that’s still crazy - but that’s the point.

By committing to pushing out so many words in such a short period of time you are forced to silence your inner critic. You know that voice, the one that tells you that your ideas are foolish and you shouldn’t even bother to start because you’re doomed, DOOMED to fail? Well, that voice doesn’t even have a chance to catch its breath before you’ve gotten through chapter 3 when you’re a NaNoWriMo writer.

Will I Write the Great American Novel?
Not a chance. You’ll write what Anne Lamott elegantly called a “shitty first draft.” And it will be bad. I mean horrifyingly, cringe-inducing bad.

But it will be great. Because you’ve done it. Once you get to the finish line and print out your winner’s certificate, you will have proven to yourself that writer’s block is a myth. That you don’t have to “feel” like it to be creative and that is worth all the pain and suffering and late nights.

How Does This Help With Change?
I’ve written before about analysis paralysis. It’s a disease that many of us suffer from, and I’m just as guilty as anyone else. Over time, experiences like NaNoWriMo can teach us that Just. Doing. Something. is worth more than all of the planning-to-plan in the world. Sure you’ll make mistakes and leave lots of broken things and casualties along the way, but at least you’ll have started.

I haven’t even started cleaning up the mess of my NaNoWriMo draft, and honestly I may never finish it, but I know that I have enough raw material to create something that someone will want to read.

When the clock strikes midnight NaNoWriMo 2007 will begin. Head over to the site right now and start typing your words!

When I introduced the concept of Sliding Scales of Change, I explained that the first step in any change process is to decide whether to change the situation at all. This is often harder than it seems. Humans are analytical creatures, constantly weighing possibilities against each other. This can leave us stuck in “analysis paralysis” waiting for the fact or argument that will finally make the “right” choice clear.

Sitting at 5
Going back to the concept of a 1 to 10 scale, if you were unable to decide whether to Change or Accept It As It Is (and it doesn’t matter what “It” is - if you know what I mean you would be at a 5. Regardless of what the song says, to me 5 is the Loneliest Number. I hate being stuck with two legitimate choices and no way of figuring out what I want to do. If the situation and choices are large enough - such as deciding to end or continue a relationship, or to sell or keep the business - it can feel like your entire life is on hold. Fortunately, there are some techniques for getting past this.

Any Decision Can Be the Right Decision
When deciding between two equally legitimate choices, we tend to over magnify the importance of the choice. We have mental dialogues such as, “I have to choose the right career or my life will be ruined!” or “If I don’t decide who to go on a date with I will never find love!” We all need to get over ourselves right now. Very few decisions will ruin your chances for happiness for the rest of your life and even fewer are life and death.

The book Goal Free Living makes the argument that “No matter what decision you make, it is the right decision, if you truly commit to it and never look back.” I especially like this post from the author Stephen Shapiro that recommends making major life decisions using Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Be a 1 or Be a 10
The worst choice we can make in any situation is to Not Choose. Indecision is a like a weight that we carry around and it slows down our progress. Whatever tool you find most helpful in making a decision, use it and get as close to a 1 or a 10 as possible. Don’t look back, don’t second guess and trust that any path is going to lead you to an interesting place.