Cut Yourself Some Slack; You're Human 🤨

The discerning readers among you have already figured out that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. Why writing can be liberating; you get to express every single one of those bottled up emotions, your crazy dreams, the jaw-dropping dramatic scenes you conjured on the bus to work, your beliefs, your discoveries, your fears, and mistakes. There's a beauty in setting them free and sharing them with the world. Yet for these same reasons, it can be daunting. It means being vulnerable and open to other people's criticisms and scrutiny. It is a revelation of who you are in totality. And trust me, it shows in every word you write and every feeling you express no matter how hard you try to conceal it.

But Hey! Cut yourself some slack. You're human. You are allowed to feel both liberty and fear. 

You are allowed to inhale the beauty and cower at the thought of staring eyes. You have every right to feel it all. At the end of the day, you need to remind yourself why you write and what you want to achieve. Do you want to inform or inspire? To put a smile on someone's face or to get someone thinking just a little bit deeper about a topic or even about themselves? Focus on the goal and share that piece of work you've been working on. At the end of the day, your voice matters so don't shut it out, shout it out! Let the whole world hear what you have to say!

Think About Others

Your energy needs to be felt by someone else. No one else has ever stringed words together to explain the concept as you have. Your piece is the one push someone needs to delve deeper into a subject. You have no idea what your writing can do for the world unless you give it wings and set it free. No matter how you're feeling, write that story and hit the "Publish" button whether you believe in it or not. What's the worst that could happen?

You'll Never Be 100% Sure

You may never know for sure that your work is perfect but you can do these two things: fact check and spell-check. Let's succumb to your meticulous side for just a minute. You can't be 100% sure but you can make sure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors in your work by using your spell checker and Grammarly or whichever app does the job. When you mention an existing concept or entity do a quick Google search to confirm your assumptions. If you're not convinced, share your opinion on it; everyone is allowed to have one of those right?! Done all this? You've done all you can do. Now hit the "Publish" button! Now! I mean it!

Remember: the more you write, the better you become at it. So keep writing!

Be Open To Scrutiny

The fear of other people's opinions is a reflection of your own fear to be wrong. Like it or not you are human. You have the undeniable ability to make a wrong decision or have a wrong opinion. Allow yourself to listen to other people's opinions and make sense of them. Don't shut people out. Yes, there will be a few people with a generally negative outlook but even they are making a point. You just have to look past the negativity and fish out exactly what needs to be changed. It's actually the same with positive comments: be sure to understand the core of what they are saying after you enjoy all the praises they shower on you. Sharing your work is the best way to get feedback and also get better at what you do. If you were writing for yourself there would be no need to share it with the world. It would be in your personal journal

Start writing today and don't stop on account of your fears. You're human. You're allowed to feel all the emotions but don't let them stop the great work your writing is supposed to accomplish in our world. Don't rob us of the beauty of your words.

You can earn money by sharing your stories on Vocal. Sign up here

Having Trouble Being Consistent? You're not alone buddy!

I am a work in progress too but there are three things that I learnt that are helping! Check them out: