On Blogging, and Not Believing Everything you Think

Confession of a psychology nerd: I like writing about mental health. 

Over the years I’ve dipped my toe in and out of the waters of writing about one of my passions: personal growth and healing. I'll have an idea or start a writing project, get scared, and run for dry land like my life depends on it. So what’s been keeping me from taking the proverbial plunge? 

Get ready, because I’m going to take you on a little journey into my mind. 

Here’s some of the stuff my mind says about writing a blog, and writing in general:

Is there any point in blogging/writing? Do I have anything to say that hasn’t been said before? Can AI write this blog post better and faster? Is anyone even going to read this? Will people criticize or judge what I’m saying? Will I misspell something or use incorrect grammar? Will I be publicly shamed or humiliated? 

Wowza. That is a lot of thoughts, and it’s only a partial glimpse. (And, you can hear how big it gets...the leap my mind makes to public shaming is a little...drastic). 

If your mind is anything like my mind, you’ve had similar thoughts when you've considered taking a risk and putting yourself out there in the world. 

We all have thoughts. They’re the words and pictures in your head, the constant internal chatter like a talk radio station playing in the background. Some thoughts can be very helpful. Thinking “I need to schedule a time to write” helped me to sit down and start typing. Paying attention to the thought “I need to contact my website folks to add a blog page” helped me take a necessary step forward. 

But our thoughts are a double-edged sword. Sure, thoughts help us get stuff done. The problems begin when we start holding certain thoughts too tightly, or find ourselves getting bullied or bossed around by our thinking.

When your thoughts take over the show, it makes it hard to live the kind of life you want to live and be the type of person you want to be. 

When thoughts are in the driver’s seat, it becomes difficult to stay clear on your values and continue to move towards what is most important.

Writing a blog aligns with my values of creativity, authenticity, and self-care, as well as values around caring for others and my community. If I listened to and bought into all that chatter in my mind, I would never take the values-aligned step of putting my ideas into writing. 

I bet your mind works a lot like my mind! I'd wager that your mind also tries to keep you safe by telling you all the terrible things that will happen if you are vulnerable and put yourself out there. 

What important, values-aligned action or actions does your mind talk you out of doing? 

What would it be like to start noticing your thoughts, and doing the thing anyway? 

Need help working with your thoughts in a different way? Want to better define your values so you can live more intentionally? Reach out for your complimentary 15 minute consultation call today.