Headaches? Hypertension? Loss of appetite? Sexual atrophy? Anxiety? Sadness? Frustration? Erectile dysfunction?
You may be suffering from VCS. Yes, Vacuum Cleaner Syndrome.
You know when you have VCS when you’re in a situation and suddenly realize that “it just sucks.”
No need to ask your doctor about it. Most of them are clueless.
Usually, there’s no explanation for VCS.
Sometimes things, or entire days, just suck.
I learned this lesson long ago as a distance runner. I’d go out for a 10 mile run and feel great. Two days later, I’d go out for a 5 mile trot, and it would suck. A day later, it would all flow again.
No rhyme. No reason. Just as quickly as it came on, VCS would dissipate.
But I seem to need to remind myself of this lesson over and over again: every occurrence of VCS is not an emergency, it’s not a disaster.
Last week, I hit a road block in my writing. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t write my way through. I began to tell myself that I was a horrible writer, that everything that I had ever written was terrible, that I would never write anything worthwhile ever again, that I would be devoid of inspiration forever more.
The next morning, I finished the chapter in about 10 minutes.
It was just VCS.
Who knows why certain efforts suck. The legendary Jim Rohn would have said that they’re simply a mystery of the mind. They just are.
Here’s the scoop. Our only job is to show up. Every day. No matter what. Just show up.
George Leonard once wrote, “The master is the one who stays on the path day after day, year after year. The master is one who is willing to try and fail, and try again, for as long as he or she lives.”
We cannot wait for the muse. We cannot wait for inspiration. We cannot wait for the day that we “feel” like exercising, running, writing, painting or doing what needs to be done. We just need to do it. Whether it sucks or not.
When we show up every day and do the work, even when it sucks, remarkable things happen. Books get written, art gets made, careers take off, relationships are deepened. 
We don’t see it when our faces are in it. Some days, all that we can see is that it sucks. But when we gaze back over a horizon of time, we can see that, just by the act of showing up, we have created a masterpiece.
So next time you suffer from VCS, consider FAI: forgetaboutit. Tomorrow will be better.
I so agree with this Walt – its a great piece. The writing block happens me regularly with my thesis and then the next day it just flows. The same goes for the running… keep up the great blogs.