I Gave Up Writing. Here’s Why I’m Back.
What brought me back and how I intend to remain consistent
Truth be told… I got lazy.
Yeah, I said it and I admit to it, I just got lazy.
I was approaching my 100th published article, I was on my 92nd before I decided I wanted to write again.
But, I never stopped trying to better myself. Which was the sole focus of my previous writing; self-improvement.
Laziness
Why did I quit before?
Well, besides getting lazy, I felt like I was writing into the void.
I knew the topics I wanted to write, but there wasn’t really any goal in mind.
Nothing to keep me pursuing, nothing to keep me engaged with the writing, and all in all, I just couldn’t stick to it.
Now, my last published piece was July 5th. It is now October 14th.
I’ve deleted every article I’ve ever published.
Purpose
Why have I deleted all of my previous pieces?
Because I have found my goal with writing now.
See, I made myself stick to writing every day, then every two days, then every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
But I was writing purely for the sake of pumping out articles.
My enjoyment in a vast majority of what I do comes from extending a hand and offering passing guidance — offering wisdom.
Beforehand, I didn’t have that vision. I was just writing for the sake of publishing, hoping I would help someone.
Now, my philosophy has changed. I’m now going to be writing for the sake of helping someone, publishing when I have wisdom, guidance, or a lesson to share.
Would I still be writing into the void again? Yeah, possibly so.
But I’d be doing it for me. For what uplifts me. For what feels larger than myself.
I firmly believe we all need to pursue something in life greater than ourselves.
For me, that goal looks like providing and spoiling those I love and offering wisdom to those who need it.
I have a job that pays well for the hours I do, I have acquired wisdom and knowledge I can bestow onto my younger brothers, I have become a stronger man to aid my parents, and currently, all the lessons I learned and taught previously, helped me to find my partner who deserves being spoilt and being provided for.
If writing to offer guidance and wisdom, becomes the engine to help complete a self-fulfilling prophecy that can elevate my sense of being, then this is the avenue I want to take.
If writing to offer guidance and wisdom can still help me find a foothold in my dreams of entrepreneurship as I try to write my fictional novels to one day become a best seller, then this is what I want to do.
At the end of the day, in my time away, these have become my lifetime goals:
- Support those who need it through guidance and wisdom
- Spoil and provide for those I love
- Tell some amazing stories
- Become the best man I can be
Goals
What goals do you have?
Sometimes, with the thing you’re sticking to, you need to step away from to evaluate where it is you’re truly going.
- Has your goal changed?
- Do you see your life differently now to the point where your method must change?
- Have you reached your goal without realizing it?
- What is the next step?
It can be incredibly hard to step away that’s for sure.
For example, I can’t step away from my job now to evaluate the road I’m on. If I do, I could jeopardize many things such as:
- I won’t afford lessons to drive
- I won’t be able to afford future rent/a mortgage when me and my partner move in together
- I would be back to square one; jobless and unable to provide
You see, that’s because my short-term goal is to drive, but my major long-term goal is to move in with my partner, my overall life-long goal is to provide for those I love.
If I was already driving, living with my partner, and had enough money behind me, could I afford to step away from my job?
Yeah, absolutely.
A job is arguably a tough example, but I bet if I told you to quit your cut for two weeks to see if maybe you should bulk, could you afford to do it now? Is that something you may need to do?
If I told you to take a year off from doing absolutely anything after University ends for you — the same scenario — could you do it?
There’s this “void area” in life where we find ourselves struggling to do anything because we struggle to find something.
Our answers are found in that area.
If you don’t feel like you’re in that void space, then sure, keep doing you, you know? Stick to that career, stick to your daily routine, etc.
But if you feel like you are… then take a step back to reevaluate what it is you’re doing.
Step Back
Why did I step back?
Admittedly, this piece didn’t need to become a tangent, forgive me!
But, I can’t help but share some wisdom or a potential lesson, you know?
It’s a bad habit of mine. I know if some people close to me read this, they would be rolling their eyes, knowing plenty of times before when I’ve butted in to offer guidance when it wasn’t needed… one more thing for my ever-growing list of how to become better!
Anyway, I’ll wrap it up now.
I stepped back because writing wasn’t getting me anywhere.
Maybe not monetarily, not even physically, but mentally it became draining.
That’s because I didn’t have a life-long purpose attached to writing.
With anything, you need to attach a life-long purpose to it. Something that no matter how rough, draining, or bad it gets, you still show up because you know deep down you’re achieving something. You’re cultivating something you’ve wanted for a long time.
Especially, especially if it’s worth the rough times because your efforts are reciprocated in the work or whatever it is that you do.
I deleted all my previous articles because my goal has changed.
My goal with writing is to spread wisdom and guidance from the perspective of a 23-year-old who has seen way too much of life for their age, hoping to guide and motivate young people and adults to find purpose and live happily.
After reading this article, do you think yours might have?
Because mine has, and that’s why I am back.
…
…Wow, my article really could have just been that paragraph and those two sentences, couldn’t it?
