Whether writing an article, website copy, training materials or short social media posts, sometimes the hardest part is getting started. Often, we approach writing tasks with a mindset that doesn’t help. Is this ever you?:
- I don’t like/I really hate/I deplore writing
- I was never a great writer, even back in school
- I don’t have time to write
- I have too many, more important things to do
- I don’t even know where to begin
- I’ll just do it later
Here’s the thing, though. We know that we need to write to put our content out into the world. We know we need to write to keep in touch with our clients and people that follow us. We know we need to write to market and share about our programs, services and products. So, why do we let these things get in the way and what can we do to change this?
What helps to get past this is to remember that our brains are such powerful allies when we put them to work alongside us, instead of against us. There are easy strategies we can practice to make writing come more easily. It’s all about our mindset and mindset is something we can control.
We can replace the messages above with:
- I do like to get my message out
- With practice, I can become a better writer
- I will make time to write
- Writing is one of the more critical aspects of my business
- I can make a plan for how to begin
- I’ll get started writing, right now
I don’t mean to imply that you just say some magic words and it will all be better but we can make each of these things happen if we want to improve our ability to write to communicate in business. A shift in mindset is the easiest, and often the most effective, place to start.
To solidify a new, more positive mindset, if you enjoy positive affirmations, create some like the ones above, or, better yet, ones of your own and consider writing them and keeping them somewhere visible when it’s time to write. Bring yourself to a more positive place when it comes to your writing. Ground these affirmations more securely by doing some breathing exercises or even meditation before starting if these are things you find useful.
Remember that few great writers were born that way. Writing is like a muscle and the more we use it, the more we develop it, the easier it comes to our aid when we need it.
Our purpose in writing, or our big “why” is also critical to setting the proper mindset to get us started. I share more about getting in touch your big “why” here.
I’d love to hear more about your strategies to set your mindset for writing with ease. Please comment here to continue the conversation. You can also explore your own writing process in more depth through my 4 Weeks To Better Writing Program.
