Let me ask you a question: How do you overcome ‘it’?
‘it’…you know what I mean. That sinking feeling when you can’t write. That depressing notion that you’re no good. You should give up. You should walk away.
I’m pretty certain we all go through this.
Writers, generally speaking, are introverts. We lock ourselves away and concentrate on our work. We often push ourselves into feeling bad just so we can gather some inspiration.
But what about when it takes over. What do you do to overcome it?
Fighting The Big Fight
Shortly I’ll ask you to leave your own method of overcoming ‘it’. I would first like to share my own way forward. This is how I keep pushing:
That picture is the wall above my workstation. I don’t always work at my desk, in fact I often don’t. I much prefer to work on location…in a coffee shop or the library. However, I will usually start the day at my desk, and I almost always spend a minute or two reading my wall.
This is what my wall contains:
- My Vision
- My Missions
- My Core Values
- A picture of my baby to be
I intend to add to this wall. It will soon have more pictures, inspiring quotes, and things that send lovely tingles through my body. But does this really help?
For Me It Does
I’m a pretty confident chap, but I still suffer with fear, anxiety, and dread. I’m at the beginning of my journey. I have no idea if this will end well or not.
So the fear cripples me, but it also drives me forward. It makes things interesting.
If you have read How to Build An Author House, you will know how much I value my Vision, Mission & Core Values. In fact, it is the creation of one’s foundation that I believe can help you through these dark moments.
When I feel that I can no longer go on, I do this:
- Read my Vision and take it in
- Read my Missions and remember what I’m doing
- Read my Core Values and re-discover who I am
- I say out loud ‘You’re Doing Just Fine’
The Fight Will Never End
I don’t think this fight will ever end. Even if I sell millions of copies, have more money than sense, and respected around the globe, there will still be something that takes hold of my fear.
Maybe it will be because I’m too busy
Maybe it’s because my new project isn’t going well
Maybe it’s because I’m bored and uninspired
There will always be something to drag us down, but there will also be hope. If we have something to turn to, we will forever have a way of defeating it.
This is why I think a platform is so important to a writer. If done properly, it doesn’t only help you stand out, but it gives you focus during the dark days.
How Do You Overcome ‘it’
You now know my way, but I want to know yours.
If you read this Post please share your own methods below. I honestly believe this is something that affects all writers, and the more we share, the more chance we have of fighting it.
I can guarantee someone will read this and not have a way to overcome their fear. The way you do it might be the answer. You might have the method to keep a writer doing what they’re doing
Let’s help each other folks…
Turndog Millionaire – @turndog_million