After a month of absence, I wrote in the morning again. I felt like a baby not being able to walk. Eventually, I pushed through the stiffness like Forrest Gump did when his splints detached from his leg because he had started running.

In fact, this famous scene in Forrest Gump is a metaphor for dealing with a writer’s block. Sean mentioned a lot that you write to find out what you want to write about“. Forrest was blocked in the legs and released the block by moving the legs.

This is a fascinating revelation if you think about it. The more straight forward you approach a problem, the more likely the most obvious solution will bring the result you desired to have. If you want to write an article for TIME magazine, ask a writer at TIME. If you want to meet a famous actor, ask the actor on Twitter when you can meet that person. If you heard rumors that your bank is investing into the nuclear and arms industry, ask the customer support (which I did).

This is a naive approach but it releases you from the stress of overthinking leading to paralysis. You don’t want to bite into your arse (German „in den Arsch beißen“) only having had stood still because you thought too much.

Also published on Medium.