I’ve decided to write a blog. Why? Because it terrifies me!
I’ve always been a talker. Public speaking, training, podcasting - some might say I have the gift of the gab! So, when I started looking at ways to challenge my self-perception, the one idea that raised the hair on my arms more than anything else was thinking of myself as a “writer”. Would I have the discipline to sit down and put my thoughts on paper? Would my ideas come out in an intelligent and legible way? And don’t get me started on proper punctuation. All these thoughts have been shaping how I feel about writing. And how have I been feeling? Scared, intimidated, incapable. Those feelings have been driving my actions: avoid writing opportunities at all costs!
So, I have some choices.
1. Allow the status quo. “I’m a bad writer, therefore, I don’t write”. Allow the fear to stay and kiss my writing career good-bye.
But is that the end result I really want? No, I want to embrace writing because I believe it’s important to what I want to contribute to the world. So, let’s look at some different choices.
2. Leave the thought and the feeling unchallenged and muscle my way through the writing. So, I allow the thought and the fear to stay but grit my teeth and force the exercise. I know this may produce some results in the end. So, I could stop here.
But is this how I want my experience as a writer to be? No, I know that a relaxed and confident headspace will allow my thoughts to flow freely. I want to give myself that.
3. Challenge the thought. “I’m a bad writer” isn’t producing the result I want. So, I am going to choose to stop thinking that.
I want a thought that I can realistically default to instead of the old, self-defeating thought. Ultimately, I want the thought “I am a confident writer!” but I’m not quite there yet. My new thought is “I’m a writer”. It’s neutral, devoid of any judgement. I can get comfortable with this thought first. The feeling of neutrality drives away the feelings of intimidation. That thought is allowing me write this now, without judgement.
So, welcome to Passion Points! I’m writing this so we can take this journey together. I’ll be tackling the thoughts and feelings that get in our way of achieving our biggest dreams. Visit www.bridgetcobbcoaching.com for more entries. Feel free to give me a shout and submit questions or topics you would like to read about in Passion Points.
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