If you’re waiting for the universe to provide for you, I’ve got a feeling you’re going to wait a long time. If you know what you want then my advice is to confidently take the necessary steps and go get it.
Disclaimer: This post is about me and what I learned in over the last year. It’s not about you. Then again, maybe it could be – if you want it to be, but that’s up to you…
If you’re a writer (or any kind of artist), the odds are you’ve struggled with doubt and I bet there have been days when it has been downright overwhelming, perhaps even enough to make you want to give in and give up.
Fear not, doubting one’s self is human nature, but (and this is a big BUT) it’s also part of human nature to overcome and triumph over one’s doubts.
YOU can do it! Yes, you can!
Last week Jeff Goins (the dude who wrote the foreword for my book), posted something deceptively simple and quite thought provoking, “Why I Write”. In his post he talked about, you guessed it – Why he writes.
Jeff ended his post with an invitation to his readers to share why they write in the comments. I typed off an answer, but I soon realized there was so much more to it and suddenly I found myself going deep.
When the rest of my answer came to me, I was floored. I have a feeling that a lot of writers, and other creative types for that matter, will find themselves identifying with the rest of my answer.
As writers, we are by our very nature, critical thinkers, but for some reason we don’t think too much about the ramifications of our own counterintuitive self-talk.
All too often we allow doubt to rule over us and take command of our gift to write words that matter. We tend to think that the harder we are on ourselves the better we will become. We challenge ourselves and, unfortunately, to do this most of us are drawn to using reverse psychology. Hey, even some of the greats have advised it.
But what if reverse psychology is one of the many tools doubt uses to cause you to stall, and even, give up?
As writers, it seems our reputations precede us when it comes to giving harsh criticism to fellow writers.
But is it true? Are we each other’s most brutal critics?
I’ve gotten bored with my book. A few years ago, I would’ve freaked out.
Oh no! I would’ve thought. Maybe my book sucks. Maybe the characters are totally flat. Maybe the plot is too simple. Maybe it’ll never get published and even if it does everyone will hate it because it’s too bland!
Now I’ve learned to calm down. The key to becoming excited about your book again is to chill. Don’t panic.
Write What You Love
“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.”
Thomas Jefferson
I thought I knew who I was creatively before visiting Paris, but when I arrived there the first time, a little over ten years ago, I soon realized I didn’t have a clue.
The City of Light “La Ville-Lumière” is unparalleled for the creatively inclined, and once you’ve visited, you will leave forever changed. It refined my sense of purpose, ignited my true passion for creating, and changed how I interpret art.
Artist – Seine river, Paris. Photo by Bryan Hutchinson
Today I am pleased to introduce Joe Bunting, the founder of the blog The Write Practice with 75,000 readers, author of an Amazon #1 Bestseller, and founder and teacher of the game changing Story Cartel online writing course for creative writers who want to build a successful and useful platform.
You’ve got a great idea for a novel, and you can hardly stop yourself telling your friends about it. The only problem is, the more you talk about your idea, the harder it seems to be to get started.
Or … you’re planning to start a blog, and you’ve been chatting to your partner about it for weeks. Whenever you sit down to draft a post, though, you find yourself staring at a blank screen. What’s going on?
Photo Cred: Creative commons by Lev
Sometimes all we need is a little bit of inspiration to ignite our creative passion, and one of the places where we can draw inspiration is from quotes.
In celebration of the release of my new book “Happy Every Day” I asked fellow bloggers to provide quotes about how writing and/or creating brings them happiness. As you’ll see, the responses were absolutely brilliant!
Photo cred: Dreamstime