Believe.
It all begins with what you believe. The biggest battle you will have to overcome in making your dream come is the one in your mind. No matter how many conferences you attend or books you read or courses you take, unless you believe you can, you’ll never get far.
So how do make ourselves believe that we can write or ___ ?(fill in your dream.)
When you sit down to write, do you hear voices in your head that say something like this:
“You’re just wasting your time.”
“No one’s going to read your stuff. It sucks. Who are you kidding?”
Or as a friend recently had someone tell her, “Why not try something else?”
Soon, those voices in your head win and while you may start a writing project — a memoir, a novel, a blog post — you don’t get far because the voices in your head win. But the longing to write lingers in your heart and you try once more this time with some help from other writing friends. Still, even though they believe in you and what you are writing, you essentially don’t and again, you reach a plateau and wonder if you should just give up altogether.
This has been me for most of my life. Then one day a friend told me, “God has books in heaven that you need to write down. It’s there — you just need to write them out.” I needed to hear to this. It helped to cement my fledging belief that I could actually write.
If your subconscious mind believes that you can’t write, how can we combat it? Neuroscientist Caroline Leaf writes that 90 percent of our daily life choices are determined by what’s stored in our subconscious mind.
The voices you hear are coming from your subconscious mind. Someone or some experience must have made you believe that you can’t write. And you believed it. It’s time to get rid of that belief and replace it with the truth.
If God has given you a message, a story to share with the world and you have an inkling of a desire to write, then you are a writer. You may not be the best writer you can be yet (but let’s save that for a later time), but you are a writer.
Say that aloud. Right now.
“I’m a writer. I am a writer. I. Am. A. Writer.”
Remember what you are doing is feeding your subconscious mind with the truth — to replace those old tapes that play when you sit down to write.
So read this aloud to yourself:
“I’m a writer. I may not yet be the best writer I can be, but I’m writing and my writing is getting better and better with every piece I produce.”
Sometimes when we are beginning to live out in our new identity as a writer, we forget easily. We do so many other things especially if we have little ones around us. I created this printable wall art for you. Print it and post it somewhere you’re going to see it daily and often.
Your hubby may think it’s funny at first. But tell him that you are just pursuing your dream and you’d appreciate his support and encouragement.
I have a loomband bracelet my children made for me — it reminds me I’m loved, that I can do the task at hand and live out the dreams God has given me. There’s nothing magical about the band — just a simple reminder. Maybe you can find something similar? As you see it, remember you are a writer and tell your subconscious mind you are and then sit down to do the work even if it’s only for five minutes.
Remember that this is not going to be an overnight process. You’re undoing a lifetime of doubt and fear regarding your writing. For some of us — this could be deeply entrenched and require more time and work. So be patient with yourself and give yourself grace on the hard days.
God has books, stories and messages in heaven which can only be written by you.
I’m a writer therefore I will write today.
What about you friend — what dream will you work on in 2019?
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