How To Convince Yourself To Write
Everything has a beginning. You just need to start.
I had been wanting to write and to blog for a long time now, while I was still at Google and definitely since I quit. There was this constant inner voice whispering: write, write and write! But I still did not. It became so annoying being torn between wanting and not doing that I finally decided to have a conversation with…… myself.
Question: Why are you not writing?
Answer: I don’t have time. There are many other things I managed to do and took away time from writing. Tasks that don’t require much brain power like replying to emails. Chores that are not typically important like online shopping. I have this huge mental barrier for writing that prevents me from even starting. Once I start, things usually will start flowing. It is also true for book reading, running, or devotion. My mind clearly wants to do it but my body ends up doing something else, usually wasting a lot of time.
Question: Why are you not writing?
Answer: I don’t know what to write. To be more specific, I have too many topics (career, life stories, love stories, parenting, allergy, friendship, dreams, happiness……) I want to write about. I don’t know where to start!
Question: Why are you not writing?
Answer: I have the fear of opening myself up to the world…… Part of me at this right moment is telling me, no, you don’t have that fear. You just write not for others but for yourself. It doesn’t matter how others see or say about you. But the other part of me is very concerned.
Question: Can you find solutions to the above obstacles? If you can remove them, you can write?
Answer:
The solution to the first obstacle “Time” might be the easiest. I need to put away distraction (my phone) and refrain from finding excuses to use it. I will seal my phone in a place that will take effort to fetch after 9PM and replace it with books, notepads and pens at my finger tips.
The solution to the second obstacle “Topics” is also comparatively easy. I need to structure my topics and thoughts into themes and sub-themes. Once I have the structure, I can just pick a topic and start writing. Having no distraction will help with that.
The solution to the third obstacle “Fear” is tricky. In a way, I don’t know how the world will react to my writing… but I can hypothesize:
If I know nobody will like my content and I will get the most brutal criticism, will I still write?
Yes! Why? I have stories and lessons I want to share. Not everyone will like or appreciate it, but that’s not the goal. Sharing is the goal.
If I know nobody will care about what I write, will I still write?
Yes! Why? I have stories and lessons I want to share. I’m not seeking approval. Sharing is the goal.
If a lot of people like what I write, will I still write?
Yes! Why? It’s great my content provides joy to people. I love helping people. But that like is out of my control. All I can control is to write and to share.
In summary, me taking the action to write has no connection whatsoever with the end result. Then, what’s up with the fear? Yup, it’s busted. It’s completely not grounded.
This is how I overcame my mental hurdle of writing and that’s why you are reading this post now. You might have dreams or goals you always wanted to go after but never get the time or courage to do so. Maybe you’ve been wanting to start writing! Try those four ways:
Change perspective - Decipher the inaction as if you are analyzing a case for another person. You can conduct a serious case study or you can have an interview with yourself.
Understand what’s sitting in the way between what you want and what you actually do. Remove those distractions one by one. Make them super hard to do. Note you probably will have to do this exercise multiple times as there are just too many easy distractions nowadays.
Define a structure. Put a framework on what you want to do and break it down to chewable pieces. This will make the action less daunting.
Visualize. Think about all the possible scenarios you will get in the future if you take the action. Will any of them be convincing enough for you to stop taking the action? If not, why are you waiting? If yes, think again.
Silver Lining: There’s clarity hiding in our jammed thoughts. Take a deep breath and dig it out!
