What I need to do to achieve happy writing and persist on Medium
How do I manage expectations for this month
When life improves, wealth increases: having bigger homes, and higher incomes, and everything gets better. It’s an unavoidable trait that our expectations will rise alongside those improvements.
Thus, the subtle thought often arises “I may have more than I used to.”
The same thing happened to me in my writing journey here. At first, my ultimate reason was to practice my English writing ability. As this account grew, my expectations became higher, “I wanna be paid as others.”
However, everything turned dark as I discovered Indonesia isn’t an eligible country on Medium.
How much have my expectations risen after nearly almost a three-month journey here?
Does my happiness rely on a Medium paycheck?
Absolutely no, because I keep on track to write here.
Another day, I visited other articles and noticed their high stats and earnings, which made me worry about mine, as they were lower and under 100 reads. Consequently, I lowered the stakes to sustain what I had achieved in the past month.
What’s the reason behind this?
Because, over the past few days, my writing performance has become low and slow due to various reasons. I thought that altering my expectations would make me feel happier while writing and reduce the intense anxiety. Furthermore, changing my expectations will alter how I interpret the current circumstances.
This drives me to reflect on my own perspective of success rather than feeling envious of others’ achievements.
I’m aware that success isn’t always measured by material or tangible things. Deepening connections with other writers through giving and receiving encouragement means more to me than meeting my higher expectations.
Besides, I find the improvement in my writing ability. The awkwardness I felt at the beginning slowly turned to a bit of courage.
Thus, I need to celebrate small steps and victories.
I’m not saying that having high expectations is bad. No, I’d say it’s amazing because it leads us to make significant progress.
However, don’t let expectations rise faster than your circumstances without appreciating your small wins and happiness. It will make your life miserable.
“The expectation is a mental game that everyone is forced to play so you should be aware of the rules and strategies.” (Morgan Housel)
I realized that my effort wasn’t as much as I expected. My content post declined and sometimes I felt disoriented. But I’m still surviving to reflect on what I’ve to change to get a better result.
“Your happiness depends on your expectations.”
Embracing happiness alongside the process itself is more essential than my higher expectations.
Best Wishes,
Marisa
