Write Despite What You Think Others Are Thinking.

Lately, I keep getting this feeling that I'm writing about the same things.

In a way, I am. I guess this is what niching down looks like.

But there are those moments when negative thoughts creep up, telling me I should write about something different so people don't get bored or think I'm being too repetitive.

But what I'm learning is that I need to say 'f*ck off' to those thoughts and keep writing about any idea I get.

The truth is I'm still an amateur.

I'd never posted more than ten blogs per month until last month when I made the commitment to scale my writing to a new level.

(I wrote 20 blogs; you can find them all here).

If I want to become a better writer, increase my reach, and increase my opportunities on this platform, I need to write more.

If you have a similar goal, this is why, like me, you should keep writing despite the doubtful thoughts in your head.

You will never reach the top 1% unless you practice like them.

I used to swim competitively when I was in high school.

I remember seeing other girls in my grade (freshmen) swimming at a completely different level.

These girls were going to counties and even state competitions. I remember one of them even went to a national competition.

These girls were at the top of their game.

Looking back, I remember these girls would give it their all during practice. Sometimes, they even did two practices in a single day.

I used to think they were special. There was something they had that I didn't. In a way, yes, because they had been swimming much longer than I had. Maybe since they were in elementary school.

But that didn't mean I couldn't step up my swimming, get better, and reach their level.

At one point, I did. I qualified for a county competition. However, not long after that, I quit swimming for personal reasons.

So what's the lesson here? If you want to perform like the best, you have to practice like the best.

This is why I am committed to publishing almost daily—at least 20 blogs per month.

After analyzing what some of the most successful writers do on this platform, I found they have one thing in common: they publish blogs almost every day.

Success is built on a mountain of failures.

If you were to ask these writers what they thought of their first one hundred, maybe even one thousand blogs, they would probably say they were all failures.

I'm not saying they failed. Obviously not, since they are making money and succeeding on this platform.

But their early writings did.

And each and every single one of those failures taught them a lesson about what works and what doesn't.

This is one of the reasons I haven't given up on Medium.

Every blog contains a lesson.

Every blog allows me to get better at telling a story and communicating an idea.

It allows me to see what I need to work on to get better and get to the next level.

This lesson allowed me to see that virality shouldn't be the goal.

If you go viral shortly after starting, what are the odds that you will stick with writing or any other endeavor when you haven't struggled?

You'll probably quit because the success you got wasn't built on a mountain of failures.

Constantly thinking about what others think of you is a recipe for self-sabotage.

I used to worry too much about what others thought of me.

I was a people-pleaser to the core, and it cost me much more than I would like to admit.

Regardless, I identified that shortcoming and started working towards building a life according to my beliefs and values.

Unfortunately, some of the negative thoughts I used to have still pop up here and there (one of the reasons why I got the idea for this blog).

But since I'm way more self-aware than I used to be, I now know that succumbing to those thoughts is self-sabotage.

Making decisions based on what others say you should do or want is giving away your decision-making. It's giving away your power and autonomy as an adult.

You can say no to those people and those thoughts, and you should.

If there's one regret I'd like to avoid, it's coming to the end of my days and wishing I lived a more authentic life — a life according to who I was and not a life according to how others wanted me to be.

Don't self-sabotage by doing things you think others will like or accept.

Honor your intuition, voice, autonomy, and who God created you to be.

This is the way to create a life and a career that fulfills you, satisfies you, and inspires others to do the same.

So write despite what you think others are thinking. Odds are, you'll end up inspiring them to do the same.