How Going “All In” Will Change Your Life

by Rochelle Melander

“One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.” –Annie Dillard

Over the last year, I’ve played a game with my clothes. Every time I wore something, I reversed the hanger, so that the hook faced me. (Organizational gurus want you to reverse ALL the hangers first. Now that’s just way too much work.)

When I switched out my clothes for each season, I noticed that I wear about a quarter of the clothes I own. And I still have new pants I’ve never worn.

This is so me. I tend to tuck things away to savor later. I stash away gift cards, books, and even ideas.

But Annie Dillard says—don’t do this. She encourages writers to spend it all. Don’t hoard your ideas for another day, a different project. Use them now.

She writes:

“The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better.”

Dillard’s call to “spend it all” is a command to be present. When we save our ideas (or clothes) for later, we are living for some future time. Instead, write like basketball players play: take every opportunity to make that basket.

How does going all in with creative play change our life?

+It reduces your mental load. Instead of carrying around all those ideas, you use them!

+It gives you a dopamine hit—which feels energizing.

+When you practice a skill or play with new ideas, your brain grows. This is called neuro plasticity. And it this will make you better able to create in the future.

Every day you write, show up prepared to give it your all. Give the best lines to these characters. Tell your most compelling stories. Use your best ideas now.

Go all in!

P.S. I am doing the same with my closet, challenging myself to either wear the clothes or dump them!