I am doing a bit of celebrating this weekend because I finished the final manuscript for my first book last week! I am SO excited to reach this milestone and even more excited to share it with you! It should be out in early January and yes, there will be an audiobook. Yes, I will be reading it. I can’t wait!
But, that’s not what I’m here to tell you about today. Writing a book was (professionally) the hardest thing I’ve ever done! As I reflected on this process, I walked away with one powerful lesson that I KNOW will help me in every area of my life.
If you’d rather listen to this email than read it, please click play. Otherwise, keep reading below.
I have always told myself that I have a really short attention span and am easily distracted. As I’m sure you can imagine, when you believe that about yourself, writing a book is exceedingly hard.
For months and months, I would sit down to write and tell myself that story. This is hard. I can’t focus. I get distracted so easily!
Inevitably, I’d struggle to focus and I wouldn’t get much done. Every hour felt like 10 hours, even if I only got 7 minutes of actual writing done. It was mentally exhausting. At times, it felt like torture!
One day, I asked myself, “If I were the kind of writer I want to be, what would that look like?”
I’d be excited to write. I have so many thoughts and ideas I want to share, I’d be eager to put them on paper. I’d be patient with the process while also committed to it. I’d resist distractions because I know I can’t create a great book and give in to every fleeting thing.
After writing that out, I said to myself, “Great! Be that person for the next 5/10/15 minutes!” Behave that way for this set period of time. Then, take a break.
It worked EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.
It taught me, quite effectively, that I can choose which story to believe in.
I can choose to believe I can’t focus. I can choose to believe that I can. I can choose to believe I can’t resist distractions or I can choose to believe that I can.
It’s really not about my past pattern. It’s about my present choice.
In episode 523 of the podcast I’m sharing how you can apply this strategy to any moment of struggle or towards any goal you have. Don’t miss that episode!
Make it a great day!