avatarJosh Balerite Acol

Summary

The web content discusses overcoming writer's block and self-doubt by embracing and dialoguing with one's "inner demons," ultimately suggesting a 100-day writing challenge to foster a consistent writing habit and personal growth.

Abstract

The article presents a nuanced approach to dealing with the internal struggle that budding writers face, encapsulated in the concept of "inner demons." These demons symbolize the writer's self-critical voice and self-doubt. The author emphasizes the importance of acknowledging these negative thoughts rather than ignoring them. By confronting and befriending these inner critics, one can learn from them, which is essential for personal development. Drawing upon psychological insights and the teachings of Sigmund Freud, the article suggests that these inner conflicts are manifestations of deep-rooted emotions, often influenced by past experiences. Furthermore, the piece encourages writers to adopt a daily writing practice as a way to overcome procrastination and perfectionism. The author advocates for a 100-day writing challenge to help writers break through these barriers, arguing that persistence and forming a consistent writing habit can lead to significant improvements in productivity and creativity.

Opinions

  • Inner demons, a metaphor for self-doubt and the inner critic, are a normal part of the writing process and personal growth.
  • It is more beneficial to understand and engage with one's inner demons than to try and silence them.
  • The act of writing every day can help writers silence their demons and become more mindful of their actions, leading to better focus.
  • Embracing a 100-day writing challenge helps in forming a habit of writing, potentially leading to a more disciplined approach to writing and increased confidence.
  • The formation of a writing habit requires commitment and time, debunking the myth of the 21-day habit formation.
  • Having an accountability partner can increase the chances of success in achieving one's writing goals.
  • Documenting achievements, even if they seem small, is crucial to maintaining motivation and tracking progress.
  • The concept of "done is better than perfect" is underscored to encourage writing without the burden of immediate perfection.

100-DAY CHALLENGE | WRITING

Conquer Your Inner Demons In A 100-Day Mind-Bending Challenge

Let today be the day you give up who you’ve been, for who you can become. -Hal Elrod

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Come on, so what do you think of “inner demons”?

When we hear the word “demon”, we immediately imagine a scary humanoid being with a long pointed tail and horns. Most often, it is described as an evil, or a fallen angel sent to hell by God because of disobedience.

As a budding writer, we refer to the phrase “inner demons” as our constant inner mind struggles against our deafening egoic self. Oftentimes, this is our own lonesome warfare against ourselves. Some refer to them as our “inner critic” while others say they are just a product of our imagination.

I have written a short poem about this as I myself am consistently battling with them.

As an amateur writer, there are moments in our lives that we feel so alone, we just can't go on. Oftentimes, we are in the midst of self-doubt, and overwhelming tasks ahead of us, whether we will succeed or not.

For instance, have you heard these competing voices inside your head, not only once, but oftentimes:

“You won’t become a prolific writer. You are a lazy, good-for-nothing freak.”

You won’t be able to write a post as well as them. You can’t even think of a good idea, what more to become one?”

And a hell of a lot more disturbing voices:

You are just a typical weakling. You won’t reach your goal.

You can’t finish writing this post. There are so many out there more interesting than this. You will be rejected soon.

The last one’s my inner demon. They have been bogging me ever since I was thinking to write this article and really I am just hesitant how could I put a bit of a twist to make this more interesting to you.

My other kinder inner demon just keeps on whispering, “Just write what your innermost self wants to inform your readers.”

They are like an angel on your right side and a devil on your left side.

And so this is it. Me-breathing deeply.

Should you slay or should you befriend your inner critics?

There are only two things that will happen:

First, if you keep on fighting them like ignoring them, by making yourself busy, or pretending you are not aware of them, making personal excuses, scrolling your mobile phone, and engaging in social media, and any other thing, just doesn’t make them disappear. I tell you they will keep on coming and annoy you every now and then.

Second, if you will firmly etch on your mind that they are just a product of your emotions, something that must have originated from negative feedbacks in the past, bullies from a loud classmate, or something stressful that happened to you, the big chances are, you will feel stronger and mightier than them.

According to Sigmund Freud, the founding father of Psychoanalysis, our inner critic is called the superego, an ancient evil that threatens and insults us always. Freud believes that events in our childhood have a great influence in shaping us into our adult personality.

Yes, you can entertain them like a friend, talk to them and ask them what’s their main purpose why are they bothering you? Who knows you will discover an authentic answer and solution from them.

As the famous German-American poet and writer Henry Charles Bukowski says,

“Don’t fight your demons. Your demons are here to teach you lessons. Sit down with your demons and have a drink and a chat and learn their names and talk about the burns on their fingers and scratches on their ankles. Some of them are very nice.”

If your demon bogs you with negative nothings, “You are really a good-for-nothing bitch. You are a procrastinator. You should quit.” You should outrightly answer them with positive lines. “Oh I admit I am lazy sometimes, but I have also days mostly that I finish all my writing tasks. I will soon be a productive writer.”

If you will be able to do this constantly when they appear in your thoughts you will begin to be more mindful of your actions.

Practice mindfulness faithfully.

Be aware of what makes you weak and hopeless when burnout sets in. Mindfulness is the best way to make yourself relaxed and focus and reset yourself.

Yes, you must be aware of your fears, before plunging in. Face your inner demons bravely and tell them,

“I acknowledge and respect your existence in my life. I don’t wanna beat you. If you’re not here, then I would not learn to conquer my flaws.”

Ask yourself what you desire most in life.

As a novice in the writing world, we dreamed of being more productive each day and solely wanted to hone our writing skills, to let ourselves into a flow state. The more we keep our writing muscles flexed each day, the more we become truly an author.

If your demons kept on annoying you,

“Come on, you don’t have to care for what others will say about your work? You are here to beat your old self. You must do it now.”

“Oh, I feel I can’t think of anything now. My brain’s in a mess. I feel upset, tired, and stressed. How about tomorrow? Maybe I could think of a brilliant idea if I will get enough rest.”

These are what normally will happen;

The following day, you will wake up early groping for your things but then your mobile phone gets in the way, and something shiny in there catches your attention. You pause for a moment and say,

“Hey, just a minute, this is fine. I will just scroll, like; and add a few comments.”

But then after several scrolls and the like, you soon realize more than an hour has gone! It’s time for you to go to your day time job.

After a tiresome day, you opt to chill out by bingeing on Netflix, and soon thereafter, hunger pangs for one more movie arise. Another day has gone to waste.

When will you ever learn? Would you be happy enough if every single day of your life this comes off again and again?

How about channeling these negative thoughts into something creative to outdo them. Well, if you think you ARE a writer, for that truly is, your one ultimate dream, then you can focus yourself on sharpening your writing skills instead, every single.day.of.your.LIFE.

But how?

Immerse yourself sincerely into a 100-day writing habit-forming challenge.

“No, I can’t! I don’t think I can do this. Imagine for h-u-n-d-r-e-d days, I will be pushing myself against this test. I couldn’t even create an idea after a day’s work, what more for those 100? Give me enough time, maybe until next year to prove myself!”

For your information,

100 days is the perfect time to unplug and reconnect yourself according to a study by European Journal of Social Psychology.

In fact, the average for a new habit to stick is 66 days. Far from the 21-day myth, we all have come to learn.

“What if there will be days that I feel so tired and can’t type a letter or two?”

“What if anything comes in between?”

“What if I can only write a boring topic, and my readers won’t dare to read it?”

These are a lot of never-ending “what ifs”? Sad to say, you are still overpowered by your inner demons. What’re those supposed to mean? This awesome journey is just between You and — Your. Fearful. Old. Rusty. Self.

Do you get it?

Take risks and get going.

Okay, get yourself running, and kick your butt hard whether you like it or not! Who says you should write a 1000-word post every day? Just show off those writing muscles until those juicy thoughts come out effortlessly.

Begin with a 500-word post each day. As time goes by, you may soon prove to yourself that as you develop your writing habit and ingrained it, you are already writing beyond 1000 words!

Look for an accountability partner.

For goodness sake, yes, you may! I believe and I bet, you are more likely to crush your goal with an accountability buddy.

One more thing, you should take a journal with you to record your daily bite-sized achievements.

Or better yet, use a simple excel sheet to organize your content ideas, as what I have read and learned from Esat Artug’s very practical post.

Alright, care to ride with me? Let’s begin before the day ends. Better to try and fail than not trying at all. After all, you can try once more and win in the end.

Remember,

“Done is better than being perfect.”

Time is running out, my oldy venerable soul. The timer starts now.

©2020 Josh Balerite Acol All Rights Reserved

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