I learned the hard way, so you don't have to.
Last year was tough for this writer.
But there was a silver lining, too. During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, unemployment, and the struggle to reinvent myself as a writer, storytelling consultant, and coach, I learned something new and incredibly important about writing.
I learned something that had eluded me throughout my entire 10-year writing career. Something that had been holding back my growth and effectiveness as a writer, and as a human being.
My wife, who is my number one fan, biggest critic, and most important editor and coach, kept reminding me of this and trying to make me understand it in a thousand different ways. It was frustrating. Maddening.
Until one day it clicked.
I needed to be much more present, not only in my thoughts but also in my feelings, when I was writing, speaking and generally communicating. As a human being, and as a writer and professional, this realization has helped me to begin a whole new period in my journey of personal growth.
A journey that, at the present time, took me from being a struggling and unemployed writer to being a writer who;
He won a Hacker Noon Award for “Mental Health Advocate of the Year” for his latest book “ Life Beyond the Touchscreen ”;
He is part of the founding team of a new brand AI content creation startup ;
You have a new part-time job at one of the top 10 growth hacking agencies in the world;
You have more clients for your Brand Storytelling services than you can manage;
And he has two new books coming out around the last quarter of this year.
Oh yeah, and I'm happily married now too.
The importance of mindfulness in writing and in life
I want to talk to you about the importance of Mindfulness in writing . I can’t promise that you’ll get the same results as me in a year, but I can promise you this: more focus on your writing, improved writing skills , better connection, and more growth for you as a writer. And as a person.
If these are things that interest you, and I know they aren't, do yourself a favor and read on.
Mindfulness: because writing is thinking and feeling
writing is thinking
Because the whole purpose and practice of writing is to organize your thoughts and feelings around a given topic in such a way that they become clearer to you and can be communicated clearly to another person. Through narration .
The goal of that communication, in turn, is that you ultimately inspire, convince and/or help someone to change something in their opinions, attitudes or knowledge. Which leads to a change in behavior.
That change in behavior is ultimately intended to help that person get closer to achieving his or her goals, and often at the same time help that person help you achieve his or her goals.
That means that in order to write well , to truly connect with your reader and truly connect with your goals, you need to really think and really feel why, how, and what you are writing.
Here's how this conscious approach applies to writing:
1. Conscious diary
I always tell people that to grow more, whether as a storyteller or as a writer, you have to write more.
That doesn't necessarily mean they need to post more content , too . At least not in my opinion.
This is where the “organizing your thoughts and feelings around a given topic in such a way venezuela business email list that they become clearer to you” part comes in.
Keeping a conscious journal is like organizing your internal space.
Mindful journaling can be a brilliant way to train your thinking and feeling muscles. And to organize and calm your mind. I advise my students to do an extended journaling exercise once a week, to organize the thoughts and feelings that circulate in the body and mind.
And I encourage you to use a version of my Daily Purpose-Aligned Journaling Method to stay on track with what matters and own the day, every day.
More on that later.
Now, after the very useful practice of mindfulness writing for your private audience of one, here's how to apply mindfulness writing for an audience of 1+n:
2. Conscious Outlining and Writing
When you write for an audience, 99% of the time you have a specific goal for that writing. I highly recommend my students, and anyone who wants to write better, to make that goal as clear, specific, and explicit as possible before they start writing.
What do you want this story to accomplish for your audience? What do you want to help them do, know, understand, or change?
And what is this story going to help you achieve?
Think about this and write it down.
But before you do so, and in order to do so, think about what you really want to say about the topic you are writing about. And why you want to say it.
What is the main thought you want to express about your topic?
And what is the connected feeling?
If you can answer these, you're off to a great start for your story outline . Now all you have to do is figure out what two or three connected thoughts, facts, or anecdotes you have to share to get your main thought across. And you'll instinctively know how to write and how to provoke your audience because you know how the topic and your ideas around it make you feel.
If you know what you feel, it becomes ten times easier to make your audience feel something about your writing. And the stories that are felt are the same stories that are remembered, shared, and that inspire people to take action.
