Why writing is a duty
Self-sabotage is a protective mechanism, writing is a duty and misconceptions about freelancing
Hi friends & new subscribers,
Are you all feeling how fast summer is going? (at least in Canada)
I can't believe it's August, and I still haven't switched my closet to summer items. Although I don't think there's a point now.
I've been reading the book The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest, and I highly recommend it. This book is all about self-sabotage. I've noted multiple times that I self-sabotage in my journey, and I wanted to understand the why and how to overcome this protective behaviour.
What I learned so far: self-sabotage isn't bad.
It's an evolutionary mechanism, just like fear. It's a way for us to protect ourselves. When you self-sabotage, it is your brain telling you to go back to your comfort zone.
Our brain isn't wired to make us happy. It's wired to keep us safe.
There are plenty of times where I am doing well with my writing and getting good results, and I somehow convince myself that I'm not good enough or things will fail or other made-up stories, and I get into the anxiety cycle.
I got fed up with the same thoughts and feelings, so I'm working to understand why I'm doing this.
Sometimes, you have to be fed up with things in your life to drive a change in your life.
👮 Why Writing is a Duty to Others:
I was driving with my partner yesterday and we were having a conversation about Medium.
As I talked about a random fact that Medium is hosting a writing challenge, he mentioned something interesting. He told me that as he was browsing for an answer to a programming problem, he found an article with completely false information (from his knowledge).
Then, when he browsed through the comments, the people were upset because they believed that this person was spreading false or misleading information.
At that moment is where I told him, "See? This is why people with good intentions should write more."
The problem with the Internet is that anybody can write. That means, whether you have poor or extensive knowledge on the subject, there is a very low barrier to entry to writing.
But, if you know that one person can benefit from your knowledge, whether it's a small change, then at that point, it becomes a duty to write.
Julian Shapiro once said, "Keeping thoughts to yourself is a disservice to others."
When you write with good intentions, feelings, and honest thoughts, you let others see through you. You let others understand themselves through your own experiences.
So if you haven't been writing for whatever reason, think of the people who badly need your thoughts and whatever else you want to share.
✍️ Writing Journey:
My 8-week freelance coaching program ended this week. (I know, I'm an online course junkie)
My coach, Eva, taught me how to confidently cold pitch to any client, market myself as a content writer, and create a predictable and sustainable income as a freelance writer. It was a really awesome program.
I sent out eight cold pitches initially, and I'm in the works with 4 clients. There are no signed contracts yet, but these four clients have shown interest in potentially working together if there's a fit.
So, there's a lot of follow-ups and test pieces being done at this moment.
I also wrote an article debunking my misconceptions about freelance writing. I thought I had to go on Upwork or Fiverr. I thought I had to charge $20/hour. I thought I had to suffer. But no. I'm continuously being proven wrong by my results.
And it's the only time I want to be proven wrong.
🤔 A question for you this week:
What belief do you want to prove wrong, and how can you get the experience to make the undesired belief untrue?
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels
Lots of love,
Jerine