June 1, 2021– It’s already June! Can you believe that we are halfway through another year? Today we’ll be starting a new theme for the month, and it’s all about Author Mindset. We’re going to dig into this in-depth, and I’m going to share some science, some tips, and some exercises that will help you get into the right headspace so that you can achieve your goals and have fun doing it!
Everything begins and ends in our minds, and we cannot have a reality without the mind entering into it. Author mindset is how you see yourself as an author/creator/artist, how you see your work, your beliefs about yourself and your work, and what limitations you have put on yourself as an artist. We’re going to talk about some really cool things like genetic inheritance, limiting beliefs, and self-sabotage and how to make massive changes. Whatever you believe about yourself, good or bad, will end up being your reality.
Today’s exercise is simple. I want you to get a pen or pencil or open your laptop and write down five good things that you believe about yourself as an author and write down five not-so-good things you believe about yourself.
For example:
- I am a great storyteller.
- I am passionate about writing.
- I can write a bestseller.
- I am motivated and disciplined to write every day.
- I can help combat illiteracy through my books.
Not so good things:
- I procrastinate in making decisions in my writing which delays the release of my books.
- I am messy and unorganized and waste time trying to find things that I need to begin writing.
- I don’t think that I can ever be awarded a prestigious prize for writing because my books are too silly.
- I don’t think I can make enough money from my writing to do it full-time.
- Does anyone really care what I have to say?
Read the first list aloud; how does it make you feel? Take note of your feelings, jot them down beside each answer you gave.
Now read the second list; how does it make you feel? Write down your feelings beside each answer you gave.
Every single problem has a solution. That’s the good news. The bad news is that if you don’t have a positive author mindset that looks at problems as challenges that can be overcome, you won’t be long for this industry.
I want you to write down five solutions to your not-so-good list.
For example:
- I will decide on a direction for my book within 10 seconds and follow my instincts to make the right choice.
- I will organize my writing space for ten minutes each day.
- I won’t worry about what critics think about my work; as long as I enjoy it, nothing else matters, not an award and not other people’s opinions.
- I will commit to educating myself in book marketing, sales, and best practices to write full-time as a career eventually.
- It doesn’t matter if no one wants to read my work; I do this because I enjoy it and am free from the judgement of others.
I hope that you’ll do this exercise and that it will give you insight into how you think about yourself, your work, and what your author mindset is at the moment. I’ll give you the tools, but you have to use them. Nothing changes if nothing changes!