Write When You Think You’re Not Good Enough

You do have the time, your thoughts are original, and it does matter

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

I gave myself a goal — to write at least one post a week for a year — and I find myself struggling to keep up. When you think about it as 52 articles, it doesn’t seem like all that much. How hard could it be, right?

Anyone who decides to dedicate themselves to a goal like this is going to run into times they don’t want to write, times they “don’t have time to write”, times they doubt themselves, times they can’t seem to put words to paper, times they would preferably do anything else other than put their thoughts into words. Not a single one of these are “good reasons” to quit. They are all excuses getting in the way of our goals.

“I think the most creative people veer between ambition and anxiety, self-doubt and confidence. I definitely can relate to that. We all go through that: “Am I doing the right thing?” “Is this what I’m meant to be doing?”-Daniel Radcliffe

I don’t have time

Even before I began my blog, I spent weeks brainstorming ideas. I thought for sure I would have enough material to fall back on if I found myself with a mental block. I was completely wrong.

The weeks come and go, in what seems like a blur and our allocated time quickly disappears. There is time dedicated to working, there’s hours at the gym, there are minutes with the ones we care about, there’s seconds to relax, and there seems to be very little real time to accomplish new goals.

Where do we find more time?

The truth is, there isn’t extra time. If you want to accomplish your goals, you have to understand there will be sacrifices to find more time. You may have to sacrifice sleep. If you can’t sacrifice sleep, you have to sacrifice relaxation time. You may have to stay in and write when your friends invite you out for a drink. You may have to tell your significant other you have to postpone date night so you can finish your latest project (Make sure these times are few and far between). If it’s a goal worth achieving, figure out what it takes to make it happen.

Why should I keep writing?

I’ve found that most of the things holding me back from writing are internal struggles. Those constant battles we all go through. There is self-doubt. Does it matter if I write these articles? Does anyone actually read them? What am I actually accomplishing?

There are times when it feels like you don’t have anything original to say. One day after I started brainstorming the topic of this article, I saw another piece posted with an incredibly similar title. In my mind, I thought, “Well, fuck. There goes that idea.”

I’m glad I didn’t keep that mindset. Even if someone else is writing about the same thing, my thoughts are still original — because they’re mine. They always portray ideas and stories through my personal lens.

So many distractions

Photo by Hugh Han on Unsplash

There are times I struggle to be productive in my downtime (I’m sure I’m the only one). It’s too easy to watch a movie, play on my phone, do anything other than writing. Sometimes I find myself sitting, knowing I should do something productive, but I can’t find the motivation to do it. Then, I’m mad at myself for wasting time, so I find something productive to do. That lasts for a little bit until I find myself continuously reverting, and allowing the distractions to get the better of me.

For anyone to take the time to stop, gather their thoughts, analyze them, and cohesively organize them — it provides better mental focus. Your body rewards you with a solid dose of dopamine. Your muscles relax. There’s a sense of total calmness that comes when you finish.

Just do it

I decided to write the article anyway — what does it matter? I talked myself out of being distracted long enough to get my thoughts together, cohesively enough. I intentionally made a point not to read the article with a similar title (at least not until I’d finished writing mine). And I wrote my own thoughts down for people to read.

I’m okay with the fact I’m not the first to write about struggling as a writer. Others are dealing with the same problems, but there’s a possibility my words are the words that spark their fire. Struggling is part of the process and I also want to work through it to become better.

See it through

Know there are going to be times you have unoriginal ideas; that’s fine. As long as your words are sincere and genuine, your purpose is generous, and your message makes people’s lives better — you’ve got plenty of reasons to keep writing.

Next time you don’t feel like writing — or whatever it is you’ve challenged yourself to do — do it anyway. If it is something that drives you, you won’t have a choice. The need to fulfill your dreams should be too strong. So, do yourself a favor; stay focused and write the damn article.