Intentional Stress Challenge: Become a Writer
Progressive challenge series focused on developing the skill that is writing. Becoming a writer can offer countless benefits to the practitioner regardless of reason or genre.
This was a guest post on the great and inspirational
’s Substack a few weeks ago.Become a Writer
Writing for the sake of writing can be therapeutic.
Thumbs to screen, fingers to keys, or pen to paper, it doesn’t matter.
Make your mind readable.
One of the best ways to individually rationalize your thoughts is through writing.
Bill Bowerman famously said, “If you have a body, you’re an athlete.”
If you have a mind, you’re a writer.
There is no better way to reflect than to write.
Reflective or creative writing has been shown to boost critical thinking, self-awareness, self-expression, stress management, productivity, communication capability, memory, confidence, mood, and resilience.
The skill of writing, like public speaking, is something I chronically avoided for most of my life. A mental block between the translation of what I wanted to say and putting it on paper was always there. In his already legendary book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield describes the concept of Resistance. The ever-present force in all of us that works to hold us back, listen to fear, accept excuses, and prevent us from reaching our potential.
Like any form of resistance, our ability to manage it is done by training.
The skill of writing can be conditioned.
Intention, focus, and consistency are always the principles for skill development.
Consciously exert yourself to eventually create subconscious habit and proficiency.
Muscle memory for writing.
Basic Challenge: Journal for five minutes a day for one week.
Write anything you want.
Potential ideas could be jotting down upcoming goals, things you’re grateful for, current values and how your actions align, concerns that you aren’t comfortable communicating, internal dilemmas, letters to loved ones alive or deceased, fictional or real stories, quotes that resonate with you and why, analysis of the previous day.
There is no wrong way to write.
We are just trying to determine when and potentially how the practice of setting aside time to write works in our lives in this challenge.
By the end of the week, the hope is that you’re getting better at showing up.
Beginning to condition the muscle that is making your thoughts legible.
Advanced Challenge: Journal for ten minutes a day for three months.
Progressive overload for writing.
We are slighting increasing the time spent showing up to write each day while significantly increasing the duration of the challenge.
Same rules from the basic challenge apply. There are essentially no rules.
Continue to examine your thoughts.
Write creatively or specifically. Practice a certain type of writing, subjectively interpret established knowledge from your perspective, or examine your feelings on a given issue.
By the end of these three months, the hope is that you’re starting to perceive benefit and potential direction for the unique topics you enjoy exploring through writing.
Elite Challenge: While continuing to journal, make one post on Substack per month for a year.
Putting your thoughts onto any surface is challenging.
Sharing those thoughts with the world can be terrifying.
I don’t know of anyone who instantly became a celebrated writer based on their initial work.
Perceived failure is part of the process.
Creating “substandard” products or experiencing suboptimal outcomes is how anyone learns.
Engagement and growth metrics for online writing are definitely indicators of external acceptance. There are many factors at play, however, that make getting a lot of likes or even views challenging as a beginner.
Who cares.
I can assure you there are many tremendous writers on Substack and elsewhere who aren’t focused on “playing the game” or putting effort into growth.
They’re just writing to write.
Quality of content > quantity of engagement.
There is nothing wrong with developing tools to expand your reach once you’re genuinely confident in your material. The metric for success in writing, in my opinion however, is not engagement but impact. Giving readers perceived benefit. This is only possible after we establish a style and ability to create material that is first beneficial for ourselves.
The goal of this challenge is to increase the “pressure” of writing by sharing it online. The engagement numbers are irrelevant.
The benefit is for you.
By the end of the year, the hope is that you’re starting to find your niche. Determining the type(s) of writing that you enjoy the most.
Develop the ability to help yourself through a skill before concerning yourself with helping others.
External validation is a metric, not a goal.
Self-actualization is the goal.
Summary
The spirit of Resistance is inevitable in any new domain regardless of perceived benefit.
Being a beginner is difficult.
You’re going to struggle.
The only way to dampen the voice of Resistance is consistently showing up.
Get reps.
Build momentum.
Find your voice.
Cultivate the practice that is making your thoughts legible.
The key to a fulfilled life is already inside of you.
Open your mind and achieve self-realization through the practice of writing.
Become a writer.
I so needed to hear this today, thank you. I actually stared writing first in a journal, and I used the Austin Kleon “Practice and Suck Less” challenge to get myself to write everyday because I got to tick off a box, which felt like something. Then blogging on my blog/Substack, and it has indeed been transformative! BUT it's been very slow going to get readers, and this is a good reminder to keep going. TLDR: thanks for being awesome.