Last weekend, I had the joy of leading a live workshop at our local bookstore called “Untangle Your Procrastination Web.”
It was one of those rare events that reminded me why I love connecting in person—real people, stories, and laughter about how tangled our best intentions can get.
The group wasn’t made up of just writers. Some were hoping to finally start a business, others were working toward a long-delayed personal goal, and a few were trying to finish creative projects that had been gathering dust for years.
What brought everyone together was that shared human struggle we all know too well: we want to move forward, but something invisible holds us back.
So we spent the afternoon talking about what procrastination really is—not laziness or lack of discipline like many people think, but a mix of fear, perfectionism, and identity shifts that take time to grow into.
Because whenever we’re working toward something new, we’re not just changing what we do. We’re changing who we believe ourselves to be.
That realization turned out to be one of my favorite moments from the workshop. You could almost feel the energy in the room shift. Heads started nodding. Conversations deepened. People began sharing not just what they wanted to do, but who they were becoming in the process.
Interestingly, that’s also the territory I’ve been exploring in my new project, The Next Story Project—how the transitions we go through in life often start quietly, with a feeling that something no longer fits.
During the workshop, our conversation drifted right into those same questions: Who am I becoming? What’s changing in me that I haven’t quite named yet?
If you’ve been feeling that kind of inner restlessness yourself, you might find something there that speaks to you. You can learn more at The Next Story Project website and YouTube channel.
And that’s the part that stays with me most—the reminder that all growth, whether creative or personal, comes with a certain amount of fear. It’s built in. But fear isn’t a stop sign; it’s proof that what we’re reaching for actually matters.
My heartfelt thanks to Winnie & Mo’s Bookshop for supporting local authors and creating a space for these conversations to happen. They have copies of all of my books, including my latest release, Escape the Writer’s Web, so if you’re in the local area, please support what they’re doing.
So here’s to the next brave step—whatever it looks like for you.