Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career for himself as writer. – Ray Bradbury
“It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.” —Robert Benchley
Hi again, everyone! I hope everyone’s enjoying this lovely Saturday – and yes, I do plan to get out with my husband and enjoy it a little myself in a little bit. But first, I wanted to share with all of you other writers out there, (or would be writers, hey what are you waiting for?) my second installment of “Book Writing for Procrastinators, Overcoming Distractions & Mind Blocks”. I also have a little surprise I want to share with you, a podcast on this very subject I happened to stumble across. But before I get into all of that, I would like to suggest that if you haven’t read my first post on this subject, take a moment to go here and read it. It’s loaded with tips on what has helped me, and 8 ways to learn from the pros, and get started writing that book, along with some links to resources from some more experienced writers who have been some of my greatest teachers, so be sure and check that out for some good advice on how to quit procrastinating, get started, and write that best seller! Hey, I know I’m not quite there yet, but we’re all writers helping writers, right? So without further ado, let’s dig in to what I have for you today!
How Procrastination is Born: Overcoming Mind Blocks…
In the last post, I mentioned that I have PTSD from a terrible car accident years ago. That’s just it, I have it, it doesn’t have me! As I mentioned in that last post, for years I struggled with lack of confidence and other issues, which mainly stemmed from the PTSD. Of course, I am doing much better now than I was a few years ago. Now, through my faith in a God that will never leave us nor forsake us, and the love of my wonderful, sweet husband, who is also my high school sweetheart, whom God recently reunited me with after all these years, I am doing much better. You can read some of our story here! Here is a sneak preview of my book on faith that is coming out soon, which will have my story of my near death experience and what I’ve learned on my road to healing. So, with 2 books now under my belt, I want to share with you what has helped me…
Mind Blocks: Finding the Root Cause of Procrastination…
My point here is, you just wouldn’t believe how much things like this can affect you. I know it did me, for a long time. Besides that, for years, I suffered from low self esteem, in large part due to the fact that I worried too much about what other people thought about me, among other things. What I didn’t realize was, over time, all of this just kind of conglomerated into a mind block. This, together with the bouts of depression that come from going through “the change” (I am a grandma now), along with my tendencies to become easily distracted, caused me to develop a mind block that nearly derailed my ever getting much of anything done, that is, until I decided enough was enough. I prayed about it, and I talked it over with my husband. Then, I came across a powerful podcast from Kary Oberbrunner. If you haven’t heard of him, he’s a very influential author, coach, and speaker working to “help other writers, people, and others just like you and me to discover who we are, why we are here, and how to become souls on fire so we can share our message with the world.” Visit him and check out his website and some of the resources he has available here.
So, Check This Out…
Over time, this stuff can really “clog your mind up”, just like an old, nasty air condition filter in your home that needs replacing. You pull it out to replace it and say, “Wow, I didn’t know all of that was in there!” Well, that’s how our minds get sometimes, and eventually, it causes you to form a mind block, like I did. That lack of confidence in yourself can spill over into an addiction to social media and email, etc, which is what Kary Oberbrunner talks about in this podcast, which I found to be very helpful. So, I will just share the link here with you, and you can go check it out for yourself. So, since he explains it better than I can, here you go, head on over and just listen to this. I know it helped me.
How to overcome an addiction to email and social media, by Kary Oberbrunner
For me, as well as the rest of us in the undiagnosed generation of people who likely suffer from an adult form of ADD – or Attention Deficit Disorder, it can be a challenge to get things done that others find so easy to just breeze right through. After listening to Kary’s podcast, I began to realize that it was my own lack of confidence in myself, among other things, that led to my eventually letting things like email, social media, and other things provide that “sense of accomplishment” he refers to here. Now that I understand a little better what the root of my problem was, I, like others who read this, can begin to become friends with myself again, and work to cut out the “time wasters” that have distracted me. I can work to put myself on a schedule that will be effective for me, just like I do my young grandsons when they come to stay with “Mamaw”, and I can finally believe in myself enough to overcome procrastination and get those books written, and I think you can too!
You Can Do This!
It is in exploring the root cause of procrastination, that we will finally begin to understand it better, and thus, overcome it, and the mind blocks that come with it, and eventually replace it with a focused plan and a schedule. It is in doing so, that we will finally understand who we are, why we are here, and what our message is that we have been put here to share with the rest of the world. That is where the renewed confidence in ourselves will come in, and we will become a powerful and unstoppable force, moving forward to the prize before us.
Well?…
Okay, so I snitched this pic from Facebook. So what’s your story? And why aren’t you writing? Let me know when your book comes out! Until next time, happy writing! Now, if you will excuse me, I have some writing to do, and I think you do too!
Thanks for reading, hope this helps someone! If it’s helped you, then please feel free to share it with someone! Then, get to writing!
Flossie Stewart, Christian Author & Speaker 