A few days ago, I was scrolling through my FB feed as I do most days and came across a post by photographer Von Wong (AKA Benjamin Von Wong) about Steemit. He gave a glimpse into this different kind of social media and piqued my curiosity. I clicked on the link in the body of his post and started to peruse various posts. I came across an entry by Neil Strauss (being a fan of his writing, it didn't take me long to get excited about this platform) and decided at that very moment to sign up. A few days later (today), I received confirmation that my account had been approved and I finalized the rest.
Now, what to do?
I often find myself starting something and running out of steam. Sometimes it's because I get distracted by something else, but more often than not it's my own need for perfection gets in the way. See, I find it difficult to produce results to my own satisfaction and end up sabotaging myself in the process. It's strange to me how my own inner critic can get in the way of my progress. But, at this moment in time, that's just how I'm built. To that end, I figured out that the only means I have at my disposal today is a change in habit. I've heard it time and time again from people such as Casey Neistat: "Don't let perfect get in the way of good enough".
Someone who works on something is more likely to succeed than someone who never starts.
Growing up, I often enjoyed a good read. As much as I hated reading the books they forced on us in school, it never deterred me from adding another novel to my collection. I've often felt that I had a book in me. Ideas often come to me for stories I'd love to create and share. It doesn't happen because I never seem to get the words on the page exactly how I'd like, which rapidly turns into frustration. As a way of avoiding such situations, I turned away from writing and focussed my energy on another passion of mine: photography. It didn't take me long before I was creating art and gaining a certain sense of accomplishment from it. Through my love of photography, I started using YouTube more and more as a means to learn new tips and tricks and admire the work of more accomplished photographers. During one video, I learned something interesting (not specifically limited to photography) and it is this: It takes approximately 21 days to develop a new habit. If you do something every day for 21 days, it will become part of your habits/daily routine.
How can I start applying this to my situation?
In an effort to improve my skills and overcome my inner critic, I decided to make the effort of posting new content everyday on Steemit. I figured that, if I develop the habit of writing on a daily basis, the consistency of this would be useful when I sit down and start writing my book. By turning my writing habit into a toolI use everyday, I believe that I can subvert my own criticism, because I'll know I'm using it proficiently and will be creating something good.
I plan on writing about things that are important to me, or at least that interest me. It will be personal and often littered with my opinion, but I am definitely excited about the road a head and hope you are too. And if you feel like joining me in my new habit forming journey, let me know in the comments and we can work on a way to support each other.
Thanks for reading!
Chris