When Everything is Out of Control, Let It Be
A new type of 30-day challenge that will have you sighing with relief instead of crumbling under the pressure
Myth: If I’m not doing something that’s going to make me an overnight millionaire — or at least pay my electric bill — it’s not worth it.
Right?
Reality: Creatives in 2021 are either thriving due to their increased time away from the “nine to five” or… they’re crumbling under the pressure of wanting to be productive with the time they do have.
It can be soul-crushing if your passion doesn’t keep your bank account afloat — yet.
Myth: If your venture isn’t profitable within 30 days, you’re a failure.
Reality: It takes time to build your audience. It takes time to hone your craft, learn the formatting, learn the algorithm, and find joy in doing it.
I am certainly not the first to suggest that you must enjoy what you’re doing even if there’s no money to be had, and I certainly won’t be the last.
This applies to more than just writing — any creative outlet you feel connected to can turn into the passion that changes everything about your life.
If you enjoy doing it — and you feel called to do it — you should.
There are times I feel like I should write, and times that I feel so frustrated that I think writing is the last thing I should be doing.
Honestly, that’s when I probably should be writing.
Inevitably, someone else probably feels that exact way — and might find comfort in knowing they aren’t alone — as I do when I read what others have written.
It’s freeing to release your thoughts to someone who will read it someday, and to look back on.
When I reflect on my 30-day writing challenge from last year, I think about how all I wondered at first how I’d come up with a topic to write about each day.
I wondered how much money I’d make, and if I could sustain writing an article for 30 days with two other jobs to maintain.
I found I was most creative when I didn’t worry about what my readers would think at all.
How will it not get stale? What if I run out of ideas?
As creators, those are daily thoughts we all have — but it’s all about your perspective.
Literally.
You are the only one who can write from your perspective.
It may be a topic that has been written about since the dawn of time, but people will read it, and… get this… find it interesting, all because you wrote it.
Tell your story.
Let it out.
Even if it’s not perfect.
Even if everything feels out of control, talk about it. Write it down.
You don’t have to hit publish yet… or ever.
Some pieces are meant to be worked on for 10 days.
Some are meant to stay within you.
Some are meant to be created in 10 minutes and may change one person’s life, even if it doesn’t financially change yours.
Just do something that will change your life, in a positive way, for 30 days this year.
Contrary to popular belief, it does not have to be 30 consecutive days.
If you enjoy being in nature, go on a hike.
Bring a small notebook in your backpack and sit down.
Write.
Think about what you see. Be in the moment.
Grow as a person — do what you must for your mental and physical health — and prosperity will come.
Or… so they say.
When you need it, you can look back on it and it may spark an entirely new host of ideas to share with the world.
Changing your perspective for even four minutes can help you realize that controlling your life is more about steering yourself around than forcing the direction.
Sometimes it’s about changing the little things in your life — and sometimes it’s about writing a piece that another needed to read to know they aren’t alone.
If you’re lucky, maybe you can do both at the same time.
