A Reminder to Pause
“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice”
As Ramadan draws to an end, it feels like a natural moment to stop and reflect. The past 22 days in Dubai have felt different. Even when work carries on, that low-level uncertainty can quietly drain us.
So here is my small reminder: you don’t have to power through everything at full speed.
If you can, try three simple things this week:
Stay close to your people: This includes those at a distance. A message or a quick call matters more than we think.
Keep your world steady and small: Focus on clear plans, fewer assumptions and calm conversations.
Look after your nervous system: Prioritise sleep, food, and sunlight.
If your business has slowed down lately, let it be a useful window. It is a chance to do what you have been postponing: learn, refine your strategy, reset your priorities and make a bit of space for yourself.
I often look to the world of writing for inspiration during these times because writers are obsessed with the long game. Their stories are often about stubborn perseverance. It takes dogged determination to nurture a story and bring it back to life after it has been pushed aside by the busyness of life.
Stephen King famously nailed his rejection slips to a spike on his wall. By the time he was 14, the spike was so heavy it fell off. Instead, he replaced it with a larger one and kept writing. His first novel, Carrie, was rejected 30 times. He even threw the manuscript in the bin at one point. However, his wife fished it out and insisted he finish it.
Then there is J.K. Rowling. She was a single mother living on benefits when she received 12 rejections for Harry Potter. Feedback suggested the story was too complex. It took one editor’s eight-year-old daughter reading the first chapter to change everything. It is rarely the first book ever written that succeeds: it is simply the first one that was accepted.
The lesson? A no is not always about quality. Sometimes it is about timing or the fit.
You learn something from every project. The key is to keep reading, keep writing and not worry too much about how others respond. These themes of resilience, vulnerability and finding your voice are relevant whether you are a writer or a founder.
Keep going. Don’t worry. Don’t even think about where the work might go once it is finished. It won't go anywhere if you do not actually do the work.
The author Octavia Butler used to say that "habit is more dependable than inspiration." She worked all sorts of tough jobs, from inspecting potato chips to telemarketing, waking up at 2:00 am to write before her shift. She did not wait for a feeling: she made a contract with herself to show up.
Remember: Most of the writing does not happen at the desk.
It happens when you are washing up, putting the kettle on, or standing in the queue at Tesco. Walking away from the desk gives your ideas space to float to the surface. Embrace the challenges and the knots in your work because it is all part of the process.
So, let's keep going and learn to love the journey.
Stick at it.
