Burnout Taught Me 5 Crucial Lessons About Writing Online
#5 You MUST embrace your polarizing nature
Writing is the easiest way to make money online.
All it takes is stringing together a couple of words and pressing publish.
The best writers have mastered the ability to seize a reader's attention and hold it for a few minutes. The worst are still reading “how to become a better writer” articles — lol.
My writing journey began in 2020.
Did I want to be a writer?
Hell No…
But I appreciated the clarity I was gaining from dumping my brain cells on a piece of paper — well, a screen.
That was until July 2022…
I burned out.
My Medium account laid dormant for five months.
I picked it back up in December with a fresh perspective and a whole leap of ideas.
Here’s five things I realized during my wilderness period.
#1 People don’t forget
The greatest fear of creators is being forgotten.
In our minds, we believe we must:
- Show up all the time
- Always be available to our follows
- Never take breaks
The algorithms don’t help either — they prefer fresh content frequently.
Subscribing to those beliefs is a death wish.
It’s tiring.
Hear me out though…
I’m not saying you don’t have to be consistent if you want to succeed as a writer.
You do.
But I am saying that if keeping up with everyone else's expectations of you makes you feel like shit, then you have every right to disappear for a little while.
People won’t magically forget you…
The things you’ve shared on the internet are there for good — which is good or bad, depending how you see it.
With the right searches, what you’ve put online can always be found.
I still had people reaching out to me and shouting me out in their LinkedIn posts during those down months.
#2 Niches are optional.
The internet is super crowded.
Everyone tries to do their own little thing to distinguish themself…
For writers, it’s niching.
It’s a fact: you stand a better chance of mastering one thing than trying to be a jack of all trades.
Most writing gurus would often advise you to “pick a niche” or share “the most profitable niches” to start your blog in.
What they don’t tell you is all the possible downsides of niching:
- Limiting yourself to a single dimension of your life
- Running out of new ideas
- Misleading your audience into thinking something you’re not
This advice also misses the entire point of why people follow you as a writer…
They can see themselves in you.
The internet has opened up the world to us.
It’s the most affordable place to find like-minded people — people hop online to find their tribe.
#3 Progress isn’t linear
We’ve all seen the expectations versus reality image of success.
We all agree with it.
We repost it.
But we may not understand it.
Progress is rarely linear…
It’s made in fits and starts.
One week you may make awesome progress; the next, you could fall off completely.
What separates the best from the rest is how quickly they get up after being knocked down.
Take getting in shape, for example; gyms are about to be packed for the next couple of weeks — not happy.
What you eat is a pivotal part of getting in shape.
“You can’t outwork a bad diet.”
There are major benefits in changing your eating habits if you want to achieve your dream body.
But this does not mean there will not be times when you take a few steps back.
You will go to the odd party.
You will celebrate special days like Christmas and thanksgiving.
You will travel.
Embracing the freedom to eat and drink what you want on various occasions is OK…
As long as it is only on those occasions.
Saturday and Sunday are not occasions — there will be another Saturday, then Sunday after Friday. It happens every week.
The point I’m making is taking a break occasionally is normal, and you should do it.
It only becomes haphazard when it becomes a regularity (i.e., daily, weekly, etc.).
#4 Writing requires inspiration
Here’s the golden rule of building an online tribe —
Only post when you have something relevant to say.
Who you are and what you stand for are vital as an online writer…
We’ve all got that one friend that just won’t shut up.
Words start to lose meaning when there spoken for the sake of being spoken.
If what you have to say does nothing for the people you’re writing for, don’t say it.
Respect people’s time.
Write only when you believe what you say will enrich the lives of your readers.
#5 You MUST embrace your polarizing nature
The secret of distinguishing yourself is channeling your polarizing side — we’ve all got one.
You know…
The beliefs that you’re too afraid to share in public…
That’s what I’m talking about.
Polarization divides people.
Better yet, it attracts people that think like you.
This is your tribe.
Channeling your polarizing side means not trying to win over some random people you’ve never met in your life.
Stop trying to make people like you.
Polarize to convey who you are as a person — it’s how you distinguish yourself as a unique individual.
But be careful…
Constantly going against the grain is exhausting.
You’ve got to find the middle ground where you share what you believe, which is polarizing, but you’re also open to hearing others out and updating your beliefs.
Final Thoughts
Writing is pasting a portion of your brain on a canvas.
To do it effectively, you must be inspired.
To remain inspired, you must put yourself in environments you can take inspiration from.
Your writing will only be as exciting as your reality.
Expose yourself to super cool things and watch your ideas blossom.
Thanks for reading!
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