My 30 Days Writing Challenge.
June 1.
I love to read.
When I was a child, I was in heaven when I was curled up with a book, losing all sense of time and place, heavily immersed in the characters and imagining myself in different scenarios. That has hardly changed. I read my favorite books over and over again like I am experiencing it for the first time. Out of my love for reading was born a natural inclination for writing. I was in awe of authors, at how they could create these stories seemingly out of thin air, and weave complex tales intertwining lives together all leading to a thrilling conclusion. As I grew older, the sort of writing I consumed started to expand beyond novels; articles, news pieces, think pieces, biographies, and blogs, the platform for story sharing developing along with the times, the internet making voices from all over the world heard, and downloading books at the tap of a finger.
I love to write
My writing was something I never thought I would share; I have many abandoned half written novels and short stories, I’ve kept private journals, and even written emails I would send to myself. I always felt slightly ashamed and unworthy of trying to be a writer. To me, writing requires an uncomfortable degree of openness and honesty; and I am not a sharer by nature. I have always shied away from the idea of someone reading my raw thoughts, or making a snap judgement of me based on something they have read. Even when weaving fantasies, there is something about writing that requires the writer to cut themselves open and leave a mark on each page.
I first started sharing my voice through my Facebook page. Short meaningless, sometimes meaningful statuses exploring an opinion, a meme, a joke, sometimes silly, sometimes serious, sometimes short and sometimes lengthy. It became a way for me to express my opinions about current affairs, my passionate stance on feminism and women’s issues, and my experiences as a “returnee” to my homeland, Nigeria. I often tried to control my impulse to share, but I couldn’t help myself. Then came the influx of the “you should start a blog” “you should write more” “you have a voice why don’t you use it on a wider platform” messages.
You have a voice, why don’t you use it on a wider platform?
And so I did. I wrote my first article on Medium. I was nervous and sick to my stomach as I hit publish, even more so when I shared it on my social media pages and with close friends. I didn’t want to become held responsible for this new thing I had started. I didn’t want anyone to expect anything of me, and I didn’t want to expect anything for myself. What if no one read it? What if everyone read it? Both equally daunting scenarios. But doing it afraid was the new mantra, and so I wrote more and shared more. Then came the first wave of crippling self doubt;
Who was reading any of this?
Why does anyone care?
What do I really have to say? like REALLY have to say?
Was I making an impact or just blowing hot air?
Am i wrapped up in my own self importance?
How many recommends would I get? (vanity oh how you always creep your ugly head in)
What was my authentic voice as a writer and was I using it?
The more I over thought about it, the harder it became to publish anything at all. I thought each time I was writing an article I had to have a wave of inspiration, a new and exciting way to capture my audience, a story to tell, a subject relevant enough with a headline captivating enough to pull the readers in.
And while this was true, it also wasn’t.
See, excellence isn’t a birth right, but rather something that is crafted after years of diligent learning, hard work and uncompromising practice. Successful people aren’t people who had a burst of crazy inspiration and good fortune (although sometimes, they are, those damn unicorns) but people who have put one foot forward every single day, even on the days they are kicked 10 steps back, till they get to their seemingly overnight success.
See what happened while I was doing all this analysis was: absolutely nothing. I didn’t write anything, I didn’t share anything, I was worse off that when I hadn’t started writing at all. And then it hit me:
Finding my flow wouldn’t come from overthinking, over analyzing, or searching for the perfect subject matter to talk about, but rather writing, writing, writing, and writing some more until it becomes a habit, a daily repetition, until it becomes second nature.
The 21 day myth has been extensively written about and tested; the hypothesis that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. According to this article by Benjamin Hardy, it takes 90 days of 100% commitment to one keystone habit (not 98%, not 99%, but 100) to spark a change of your habits.
“We are what we repeatedly do” — Aristotle
So, my challenge for the month of June is to write everyday; about any and everything. Whatever comes to mind, when I am inspired, when I am not, be it long articles, short paragraphs or a few sentences, every day I am holding myself accountable to putting down words on my medium account, and I am putting this out there so it would make it harder and more embarrassing to quit.
I challenge you to do the same.
In whatever aspect of your life you feel needs improvement, be in pushing yourself to work out more, to finally get that dream body, to start that lifestyle change, to have a healthier diet, to read more, to design more, to pick up those GMAT books, to apply for more jobs, to write that business plan, to create that podcast or vlog, to start working on that idea you’ve been procrastinating and putting to the back burner for so long….. just start, and more importantly continue, one foot in front of the other, every day, especially on the days you do not feel like it, and on the days where it feels like no-one is listening, until it becomes a part of your life.
Always remember, perfection is the cousin of procrastination. You will never have the perfect conditions under which to pursue your dreams, and sometimes that feels intimidating; but as the ocean is made of little droplets of water, so are big dreams borne of little committed steps daily. With these small steps, you are honing, learning, practicing and perfecting your journey, every single day.
Good luck!
Update: Here are all 30 stories I wrote for this challenge:
Marriage Advice For Men (You’re Welcome)
13 Lessons I Learned From Paul Coehlo
On Making Friends And Alienating People
To The She-women Feminist Haters Club
No, I am Not Taking My Husband’s Name
If you resonated with this, or if you are interested in following my 30 day challenge, please hit the little green heart at the bottom or the screen or follow my page for daily updates :)
