The Hidden Stall: Why Your Best Work is the Hardest to Finish
The Heavy Weight of a Quiet Idea
Do you ever have an idea that feels so heavy? So full of your own heart that you find yourself walking around it for weeks, maybe even months, without actually touching it? You tell yourself you’re "waiting for the right window of time" or "refining the vision," but deep down, there’s a quiet tension. It’s the feeling of being right on the edge of being truly seen, and the instinctual urge to pull back.
When Capability Isn't Enough
This post is about my hidden stall and the lesson I learned while working through it.
I recently explored the concepts of Accountability and Capability. Creating a workbook (or a book no less!) is a marathon that requires a different kind of sustained focus, as we often have the skills to finish (capability), but we lack the external push to keep going when things get hard (accountability). Or maybe for the you the opposite is more your truth. In any case, I thought those aspects were the only missing pieces for completing my MOMazine workbook—the tangible legacy of our first year of in-person Mamas On Missions circles.
If you’ve been following along, you know the MOMazine is my passion project. It’s the compilation of our first year of sacred mom circles, reflection, and connection. When the idea first came to me, to create a workbook that allowed our fleeting in-person sessions to last longer than the day itself, I knew I had the capability. I have the tools, the experience, and the framework. I even created my own deadlines to support my accountability. But I quickly realized that because I was the one leading the charge, neither the group nor my contributors could provide the push I needed to meet those arbitrary dates I’d set for myself.
The work still wasn't moving. There was this stall.
When I sat with my pen and my journal, away from the digital noise of the screen, the truth came out in the ink. I wasn't lacking a "boss" or a schedule. I was facing a Vulnerability Gap. I have already shared the story of how the MOMazine began. It took root from a season of deep transition, a personal choice that led to grief, and the "divine intervention" of creating space for moms to share, grow, and reflect together that helped me find grace during my silent mourning. But there is a different kind of weight in telling the story into the digital ethos. Taking that story and turning it into a permanent, physical, published resource…that’s different then seeing it just on my own screen. The MOMazine contains that journey through healing; it contains my secrets, my shadows, and my unspoken truths. To publish it means to put my heart on the page for the world to judge, again and again. I realized I was using "perfectionism" as a shield to protect myself from being “seen” in such a way.
The Power of the "Slow Build"
I know I’m not alone in this. Many of the authors and creators I work with feel this exact same paralysis. When a project means the world to you, the fear of it not being "perfect" can be enough to keep it locked in a desk drawer forever or lost in a sea of files on your desktop.
But here is the secret I forgot about my own work: The MOMazine was already built. It didn't happen in a frantic, high-pressure weekend. Every article and worksheet in that book was originally a single session we held over the course of a year. We did the work in small, manageable pieces. We focused on one theme, one reflection, and one connection at a time.
The "book" is just the beautiful result of those consistent, small acts of showing up.
Small steps is the key to progress. Not perfection, or capability or accountability alone. Even when it came time to design the MOMazine, tackling it slowly, section by section was building it with ease instead of pressure.
Turning Insight into Action
How to start? If you are sitting on a big, beautiful idea (a workbook, a course, a legacy project) stop looking at the mountain. Stop trying to climb the 200-page peak all at once.
Instead, I want to invite you to embrace the intentional space of the "Slow Build."
Acknowledge the Fear: If you’re procrastinating, it might be because the work is important. That’s not a sign to stop; it’s a sign that you’re doing something meaningful.
The Single Worksheet Method: What if you didn't write a book? What if you just created one worksheet this month? One reflection that helps one person?
Pen to Paper First: Before you try to "format" or "design," get the raw story out. Write the "secrets and unspoken truths" first. You can always edit the text later, but you can’t edit a blank page.
My Invitation to Co-Create
To grow, we must share. We must express. We must offer support, and sometimes that means sharing our own stories to light the way for others. Thats what I am doing with the MOMazine and my motherhood journey. And that’s what I am doing here with Do The Work Books. Here are 2 ways to build your book with me:
Worksheet Workshop
If you’re ready to start your own "Slow Build" but need a gentle nudge to make it real, I’d love for you to join my FREE DIY Worksheet Workshop. It’s the perfect way to see how I think and work, and it will give you the tools to create that very first page of your legacy.
The Co-Creator
If you find that you need a partner to help you cross the finish line, someone to sit in the trenches of that story with you, let’s hop on a Connection Call. Through my Co-Creator (a Collaboration Consultant package) we build your vision the way I built the MOMazine: slowly, naturally, and one heart-centered worksheet at a time.
Let’s do the work, together.
Collaboration Consultant
Your dedicated development partner. We work side-by-side to write, structure, and execute your workbook.
READ MOMazine PART 1
Are you stuck on a project that means the world to you? Discover why "Capability or Accountability" isn't always enough and how the "Slow Build" method can help you move past perfectionism and turn your work into a published legacy.