When I first started to write professionally, I was pretty bad at it. Even with my years of writing book reports, essays, and business plans through school, I felt like something was missing.
Like I wasn’t giving my all in the work.
That does make sense since those things I wrote before were not all that exciting or engaging for me. But when I found something interesting in self-help, you’d think I’d be getting really good at it pretty quickly.
Yet I wasn’t.
It took two years for me to change up my writing style for the first time.
It took three years of writing to discover Medium, join it, and devote more time to writing on the platform.
And after eight years of writing at this point, I can say my style now is nothing like it was back then.
Even with the slow start to it all, I am proud that I spent little to no money at all in honing my craft. Even though people asked me multiple times if I’ve taken any writing courses or considered them over these several years.
Spending very little or no money to grow in an area of one’s life is a good feeling. For me right now it’s practical given my own financial circumstances. But even when I make a decent living, I still will likely be doing things cheaply or for free where I can.
Not because I’m cheap. But because it proves a specific point.
You see, the self-help industry is filled with gurus who think that the only way to grow is to be spending money. Like that scammer told me about my Youtube channel you need to be spending money for things to grow.
And while I agree with that sentiment, I’d argue that it depends.
For things like marketing, definitely. The bigger the budget, the more you’re going to steamroll the marketing campaign.
But one doesn’t need to spend thousands on writing courses or writing coaches. If you practice long enough, you’ll get there. If you read other people’s work, you’ll pick up on their styles and shape your own.
There’s other things out there that you can do on a budget and grow extensively from. In many cases, these options are free.
Read A Few Books
This is the only one in this list that costs you money directly. The rest of them are purely optional.
Even though I didn’t buy that many self-help books, I’m spending some of my off-time picking up some unique books and reading through them. I’m looking for books that break the mold of traditional self help.
I’m looking for books written by doctors. I’m looking for those who offer some genuinely good advice and tackle a familiar problem in a different way. I don’t want fluffy woo-woo bullshit.
I’m certain there are a lot of books that fit into that category, but make a point of having a cut off point. If it’s self-help books you’re reading, there’s only so much you can take in.
Information addiction is a thing and while reading can be helpful, too much of it can lead you to walking in place. Even if you know what to be doing to grow.
Next year I’m starting it simple with six books. As someone who doesn’t read a lot, giving myself a few months to read a book is something I’m confident I can manage. Though the other reason is that I’d like to do book reviews for my channel too and having read a good amount will give me content fodder to work with.
Point is, read a reasonable amount of books. If not, then definitely consider articles.
Return To Some Old Passions
I have a laundry list of things that I’d like to do. I have no idea if I’ll ever get them to be a reality, but there are definitely some that I’ve attempted.
One of them is my Youtube channel.
And it’s something I’ve recently returned to by mid November. Here is my latest work.
A lot of us give up on our goals and dreams for various reasons. Sometimes it is negative thinking. Other times it might be a lack of resources and it’s smarter to invest in something that is working for you instead.
The list goes on.
But even if you moved past it, it doesn’t mean that old goal or idea was a bad idea.
It reminds me of the idea of reading through a book you’ve read before a second time. The you when you first read through the book was different from the you of today. And with that comes new experiences, new angles, new perspectives to things.
Even if you can remember the story or what was said very easily, our mind can pick up new bits of information the second time around.
You just have to let it cook and try it out later down the road.
Sure, that old passion may end up costing you money. But with so many pursuits, I’m sure there are some free alternatives out there.
Ask For Feedback Or Critiques
One of the most profound ways to grow is to be asking and receiving feedback or critiques about what you are doing. The only problem with this method is that when starting out something, you’re not going to be getting much at all.
That or you might not be getting any feedback at all even when asked. Or it’s impractical.
That aside, when it’s good, it’s really good.
Feedback was what I needed that my writing is actually good and when I got it, I had more confidence in my writing.
But it’s also made me humbling too about my particular views and how I see situations too.
Because the other reason feedback and critiques can be so helpful is that they can break our biases. After all, the more you continue to work in one specific area, the more you think a certain way about your work and what you’re doing.
It reminds me a lot about deck building in Magic The Gathering. There are new sets launched regularly and they all offer some unique or more efficient cards that players might want in their commander decks. Figuring out what to cut can be tricky in those cases and our biases can make us gravitate towards not cutting sub-optimal cards just because we think they might come in handy in a few unique scenarios.
We can get the same way with our work too where we think we’re being very helpful working in a certain fashion when we shouldn’t be. Getting feedback can help address that amongst many other scenarios.
Be Open To Change
Along the same lines to being open to feedback, being open to changing yourself is key. Even if you’ve got some solid foundations for certain methods, it’s important to keep in mind that not everything is set in stone.
There are always new perspectives to consider and some may have a point.
Generally speaking, we should be open to changing our methods or our life and we do a little bit of that naturally. But making bigger changes in our lives should also be happening.
Not all the time. But at least once in a while.
And making changes becomes easier when we open ourselves up to the possibility of there being other ideas and perspectives out there. Or that maybe we’re wrong in our logic.
Find A Community And Engage With It
Recently there was a new game store that opened up in town. They play Magic there on Wednesdays and Fridays and I’m very happy with it.
It’s the first time in years where there is actually a community gathering that I can engage with on a regular basis.
From communities to building your own network, generally having a place that you can go on the regular or reach out can make a huge difference in one’s life. I tend to go the community route since it’s a lot easier to meet new people there and know that there is at least some common ground between everyone.
Beyond that, it gives you a place to go that breaks away from what you typically do in a given day. It’s a safe spot that allows you to be genuine.
Even if you’re introverted, having at least a space like this where you can engage with people can do a lot for one’s mentality.
Self-Reflect
I still believe we don’t do enough of this.
A lot of problems could be solved if we spent some time to reflect on ourselves about all kinds of things. I know this because this is the exact strategy I did to bolster my confidence in speaking to others, talk myself out of a depression episode and suicidal thoughts, and problem solve my way through many other things I am facing today.
Self-reflecting doesn’t solve your problems or anything, but it can give you a train of thought that can help you carve a path you can then walk. All you have to do is take action and push forward.
There are a lot of practical uses for this.
Get Enough Sleep
One of the easiest on the list, though it can be expensive in certain cases since this might require a new pillow or a better mattress. Regardless, don’t go out and get any new items yet if you’re bed is in good condition.
For a lot of us, a bad sleep is normally a result of certain habits. It could be staying up late, being woken up mid-sleep by noises, or too much screen time.
There are other reasons but my suggestion is to first figure out what those are and mitigate those first before spending any money on anything. All that matters in the end is whether or not you get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep, with 7 to 8 being the average number of hours slept.
Find A Simple Method To Get Into Flow
The last method to grow is being able to enter into a flow state when you are engaging with your work. Being able to have intense focus regardless of what’s going on around you is a powerful tool I find.
I would know because I recently found a tool that really helps me out with it.
Some of our best work comes from this state and the easier we make ourselves enter into this state of mind, the more we’re going to be able to put out our best.
This helps us grow for the simple fact that we bolster our productivity this way while also feeling a sense of satisfaction and overall happiness from it too. It just feels good entering this state.
And developing a strategy around that can do wonders for you. Best of all, you don’t always need tools to help you with that (though some can help). Some small and free methods you can consider are:
Figure out what you want to wear the night before. Also plan out what to eat when you get up. Make a point of addressing the minor decisions you would make in the morning the night before.
Put yourself into a particular place mentally or physically that allows you to focus intensely on what needs to get done.
Nullify other sounds until all you hear is the sounds you want to be hearing.
Growing yourself doesn’t require you to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars. Make a daily commitment to making small changes or the occasional investment into something different can make all the difference.
Take it from someone who got better at writing by reflecting on my work and seeking out feedback and being open to change.
Enjoyed the article? Please consider offering your support!