The future is not “lost.”
We are not “hopeless.”
We are incredibly passionate, resilient, and innovative.
What we need isn’t a defeatist mentality.
What we need are more people to come alive and realize the impact their individual actions can have on the greater whole.
Don’t be scared of bad judgment.
It’s where all of your good judgment comes from.
Be scared of not exercising your judgment at all.
It’s where bad judgment remains unchanged.
Imposter syndrome is the byproduct of being hyper comparative.
For you can only feel like an imposter if you have other non-imposters to compare yourself against.
The antidote then is to become non-comparative and hyper focused on building up the skills within the identity you want to not feel like an imposter in.
So, rather than compare yourself to the most skilled in your field, focus exclusively on developing the skills of the craft.
Because the cure for what feels like a lack of identity is the accumulation of more actions of someone who would hold that identity. Until eventually, you do it so much that you (finally) become a non-imposter.
This is all to say, if you want to embody the identity of a writer (and not feel like an imposter when you write) just freaking write more—and stop comparing your writing to the greats.
How important is it to wake up early in the morning?
…Not that important.
What time you wake up is arbitrary.
What matters is what you do during your waking hours and how you prioritize your time.
Some get to bed by 9pm—others can’t go to bed until 12am.
Expecting both to wake up at 5am is silly.
Some people work better and are more efficient at night. Others in the morning. And others still, midday.
What’s important isn’t a specific time (because a successful person said that’s what they do).
What’s important is self-awareness.
How do you tell someone How to break free from the grips of hell When they’re the one With burns Cuts Scrapes Bruises And gashes; And all you’ve got are words From unblemished pages And pure intentions
You can’t force clarity.
Clarity is something that needs to be surrendered to.
Like when you’re in the middle of a big life decision—stuffing more “solutions” into your mind will probably only further confuse the matter. When what’s really needed, in most cases, is less stuff altogether so that the quiet, unmistakable voice that speaks from deep within can offer its solution based on the depth of knowledge that’s already there.
Try to force the mudded pond to settle and you’ll mud it more.
Surrender to the settling process and the pond floor suddenly starts to come into view.
Creating is self-expression in its rawest form.
We take already expressed things from the world, mix and mash them up with our ideas, and end up with a never before expressed thing that we get to share.
Which is why, the ultimate win from a creation is a renewed desire to create.
Because self-expression isn’t something that’s ever done—it’s as living and as breathing as we are. And the more we create—the more we express ourselves—the better we get to know ourselves.
It’s also our creations that act as the very foundation of our legacies—what better way to be remembered than by referencing what we uniquely expressed?
With that in mind, here are some gentle reminders for you to keep in your back pocket as you continue to create:
Remember, the ultimate loss from a creation is an extinguished desire to create.