Read time: 5m 15s

There are two kinds of people:

1. People who think being a writer is cool. 

2. People who think being a writer is boring. 

Those who fall under number two think that writing is all about locking yourself in a room. and having nothing exciting going on in life.

But those who have tried writing know that to write well, you need to live an interesting life. 

To me, that’s a great reason to write.

The problem is, just like everyone else, I struggle with consistency.

I’ll be excited to write, but a few days later, I’m back to square one. 

Here’s how I helped myself become more consistent over the years:

If you do what a writer does, you are already a writer.

There is plenty of good stuff I fantasize about writing—publishing viral articles, having a best-selling book, and creating outstanding writing courses. All those are nice, but they shouldn’t be the focus.

The focus is to become a good writer so that you will be capable of achieving those things.

And if you want to be a good writer, you want to allow yourself to start imperfectly. Being a writer only involves one thing — writing. So if you can write every day, you are a writer. It doesn’t matter what you write. It doesn’t matter if people read. 

You need to have the discipline to show up every day.

If you know you are a writer, you will do everything possible to accomplish your writing task for the day. Once you get this, you will realize it’s no longer about discipline.

It’s just showing up as the writer — the identity you have set for yourself:

• You wake up early.

• You write first thing in the morning.

• You capture ideas throughout the day.

• You consume helpful resources and do not doomscroll.

It’s similar to other identities you set for yourself - being a mom, a student, a corporate worker. You don’t wake up and think if you want to do your duties as a student, mom, or worker. 

You just do it because that’s who you are.

Instead of trying to learn more, dig deeper into what you already know.

I get imposter syndrome every time I write about self-improvement.

Yet, it’s a topic I’m passionate about because it’s the journey I’ve been through in the last several years.

The problem is that whenever I write, I try to sound like the self-improvement writers I read from. I try to rewrite what they say because the lessons are stuck in my head. And who am I kidding? My rewrite could never be better than the top writers I read from. So I always think I need to learn more and write better.

But I found out that most of my top-performing posts are not because they are more informational or written better than the others. It’s because something makes them unique.

What makes them unique? It’s that they are written by me - and I have incorporated some of my stories or personal viewpoints. 

It’s always easy to say creating better habits is the key to a successful life - and I don’t feel as successful or that I have the perfect routine. But if I dig deeper into what I have achieved over the last few years, I can make my readers resonate.

One example of this is my consistency with writing. If I reflect on my personal progress and the problems I have solved during the last few years, nobody has written about that yet. They have their own versions.

I can say how I try to wake up early. How I struggle to come up with ideas. How I find time to write. Etc. 

Then if I take the time to write, I try to:

• Use simple words to explain thoroughly.

• Pick descriptive words to paint a picture of what I am experiencing.

• Target the friction and pain points I went through.

• And solve real and urgent problems.

Suddenly, I am not an imposter.

Suddenly, I don’t need more resources to write something.

Suddenly, I learn how to make my story interesting to others. 

The result will not come to you unless you are the person who already does what it takes to achieve the results.

If you write every day and divorce yourself from the outcome, you are practicing to become a writer.

When you practice becoming a writer every day, time has no choice but to catch up. You are already living as a writer, and your reality will catch up to who you show up as. 

If you practice writing every day without expecting anything, good things start to happen. When you do it for money, fame, or status, you get tired of it when you give effort but don’t see results.

The more you chase results, the harder it will be for you to get them. 

Just remember the last time you achieved something, is it purely because of hard work? Probably not. It’s a mix of hard work + not caring about what the results will be.

You just do what it takes to get there, then forget about the rest.

Good writers are not as smart or talented as you think. 

I’ve been into reading biographies lately.

One of my realizations is that most of the people I look up to are not that special. They are just like the rest of us. They just have the courage to work on what they want. They are not afraid to fail. They are willing to learn.

Most importantly, they practice their craft and don’t stop until they are great.

One of the writers I look up to is Jim Collins. His best habit? Logging his creative hours every day on an Excel sheet. His goal is to hit 100 creative hours in every 365-day cycle.

Imagine where you’d be if you did that for several years.

And think about how you’re going nowhere all because you can’t focus for one hour.

The one hour you’ve been trying to do has been postponed many times because you have no discipline. You’re afraid of putting yourself out there because you think you’re not good enough.

But this is costing you the life you want to have.

So instead of saying others are so lucky because they were born smart or talented, try first. Write more before you get jealous of other writers. Create more before you complain about not getting results. Build more before you say you’re not good at it. 

Fail a lot. 

Then try harder.

Don't stop until you're proud of yourself.

Being a writer is not always rainbows and sunshine. But once you see a glimpse of the rainbow, you’ll be glad you started. 

You don't spend minimal effort and then get millions of views.

You don't spend 1 year and have a best-selling book.

You don't write one tweet and become a good writer.

Being a writer is a lifestyle. Just like working out. Just like eating healthy. Or just like any other fulfilling habit. You won’t always be excited. You won’t always get results. You will feel like you’re not making any progress.

But when you look back after a few months, you’ll be amazed at how much writing has changed your life.

It doesn’t only give you clarity. It gives you peace of mind. It gives you a direction. It teaches you about yourself. It teaches you about others. It teaches you about the world.

This is all an understatement. 

Writing is a game worth playing forever.

Next Steps

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Talk to you soon!

-M