Until you know yourself, stop learning
Right, you can do absolutely anything Elliot. What do you want to do?
I want to write.
Okay, great. What are you going to write about? What ideas do you have?
Well… there’s the problem.
Today, we return to writer’s block.
But only to mention it. Chapter 103 involves no complaining.
Quite the contrary in fact.
I’ve complained about writer’s block in just over a handful of my 103 Chapters. It’s a handful too many, but for an inexperienced daily writer it’s not a bad return.
Now I’m gaining the experience, I realise that complaining about having no ideas is not content anyone wants to read.
Where’s the value? Where’s the message?
Complaining is dull and it’s boring and it screams ‘this guy has a victim mentality’.
When I get writer’s block now — and boy does writing daily make you more aware of when it comes and goes — I don’t complain. I’m irritated, but I hold it in. Complaining just gives the brain a weakness to play with.
It’s an odd concept to wrap your head around, but our brains work against us a lot. If you shown any sign of weakness, it pounces. Let your guard down for one solitary moment and all of a sudden that little complaint is a full blown frustration.
For each of us though, our brains are unique. Some brains let go of little worries without a second thought. Other brains cling to those concerns and jam them right in the mental forefront.
It’s fascinating, but what it means in a practical sense is that we need to learn about ourselves. We need to know as much about our physical and mental state as is possible, and then learn even more.
The more you know, the more you can begin to understand why you react to certain situations the way you do. Suddenly, you’re more aware of how to change your behaviour if you’re not happy with it.
When you feel like you’re in the dark, how well you know yourself serves as the difference between believing there’s a light switch to be found, or giving up and accepting that you’ll forever be blind.
Dedicating the mental energy to learning more about what makes you tick is a conscious, individual decision. No one can do it for you.
It’s a steep learning curve, and the process is slow. But don’t let that put you off.
If you don’t truly know yourself, do you really know anything?
