February 1, 2021– All this month we’ll be focusing on stepping out of our comfort zones in our writing and career! As many of you know, my life is about to change dramatically; want to talk about stepping out of comfort zones, I’ve got a story for you! I recently sold my house and have purchased a Pandamonium Publishing House tour bus, that I will be travelling cross country in, for the next 2-5 years. Yep, I’m all in and totally committed to adventure, new experiences, getting out of my comfort zone, and spreading the word across Canada and the United States (when the border opens) about our fabulous authors, artists, and company.
I chose this topic as the next one in our series because I think it’s important. Anything that makes us uncomfortable helps us grow and it’s up to each of us to create the type of life that gets us excited to wake up in the morning! Here are some ways that you can begin to step out of your comfort zone.
- List your fears. By making a list of things that scare us the most, we give ourselves the opportunity to find solutions. We can only confront and change what we are willing to acknowledge. What are your fears for your writing life?
- Find solutions. The only way to overcome our fears is to look them straight in the eye. Whatever your fear may be there is always a solution. For example, if one of your fears is that you’ll never finish your book, the solution may be to schedule writing time each day, or to hire a ghostwriter.
- Take immediate action. I really don’t like running the stairs, but I know that it’s beneficial to my health. So, instead of thinking about it, dreading it, and making excuses as to why I should do it tomorrow, I do it immediately before my brain talks me out of it. Same goes for my writing life; there are some things I really don’t like to do (accounting and necessary paperwork), but I count down from 5 and by the time I hit 1, I’m already started. I don’t give myself an opportunity to cop out and neither should you. Do it, get it done, and move on.
- Do the hardest thing first. Do you need to rewrite chapter eight of your novel? Do you need to put together a marketing plan? Do the hardest thing first! You’ll thank yourself later because when you get the hard stuff out of the way, you’ll feel less stressed, more accomplished, happier, and more productive. You won’t have the task hanging over your head and you can do the things you love to do without worrying about what you should be doing.
This month, I can’t wait to explore a whole host of writing exercises, challenges, and topics surrounding getting out of our comfort zones, with you! For more advice, check out my Number 1 Best Selling Book here: Advice From a Publisher (Insider Secrets for Getting Your Work Published!) An Amazon Best Seller – Pandamonium Publishing House