I find one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of my working life is creating new content. I’m referring to new posts, workshop content, website content, coaching tools and more. My biggest challenge lately is related to my intention to publish a book. I’ve talked about writing a book for over two years now and still no book.
I do a lot of writing. I have published nearly 300 posts. I have hundreds of other unpublished pieces in various stages of completion. So, the evidence would suggest creating content for a book is not a problem.
Recently, I was doing some reflection on why I might be stuck. For inspiration, I flipped through numerous books I’ve read. My intention was to build a feeling of how easy it would be to pull a book together.
I looked through various books I’ve read by authors such as Jason Little, Christopher Avery, Johanna Rothman, and others. I started to make a list of all the things I like about their books, and what I would do differently.
This is when I started telling myself a familiar story. I’m not as good or smart as these people and so what makes me think I could publish a book. They obviously weren’t fighting with doubts as strong as mine as their books are wonderful.
Recently I recognized why I’m stuck. I’m comparing myself to others and wanting what they have before I act. It’s an assumption I’m making when I say “they obviously weren’t fighting with doubts.” I know how wrong most of my assumptions are and so this becomes another one I am working to let go of.
It’s very easy to go through life wanting what someone else has. In this case, I don’t need what they have. I already have everything I need to make a book happen. So, it’s time to get unstuck and get it done in 2018!
Thought of the week
Where in your life are you waiting to do something because you feel you’re not as good as someone else?
There are numerous mindsets that might be at play when you compare yourself to someone. When comparing myself to other authors I was finding myself in a mindset of shame. In the mindset of shame, we see ourselves as being the problem. We also see ourselves as being the cause of this problem. In my case, I was telling myself I’m not as good of a writer as these other authors.
When we’re not ready to confront this mindset of shame, we have a coping mindset known as quit. In quit we’re essentially telling ourselves a story allowing us to cope with the shame we’re holding onto. In my case, I have a thousand stories that allow me to cope like “I guess the book just isn’t ready to come out of me yet.”
Stop comparing your life to someone else’s life. You have everything you need to get what you want. Where you might be lacking in something, I know you are resourceful enough to go get it.
It’s time to get unstuck. Go for it! You’ve got this!
