Stop Being a Worrywart Writer by Bryan E. Robinson, Ph.D
WRITING RESILIENCE
“Worrying is like paying a debt that may never come due.” —Will Rogers
Raise your hand if you’ve worried about your writing—either that it’s not good enough, that it won’t be accepted, or that no one will take the time to read it. Hey, that’s just about everybody in the room.
Writing and worry go hand in hand, but stop and think about it. Worry doesn’t prepare us for anything, and most of what we worry about never happens. In fact, worry can sabotage the very thing we’re worried about: our writing. It consumes us, drains our energy, keeps us on edge, and interferes with concentration.
Although most worry is unnecessary, our minds and bodies go through
the mental and physical toll anyway, even when things turn out okay, and
we end up paying a debt that never came due. The best policy is to make a
pact with our inner worrywart to wait for the outcome and then worry if
necessary. That way we’re not wasting our valuable writing assets for nothing, and we have more resources to spend on penning our best work.
Today’s Takeaway
Let go of unnecessary worry so you have more energy and concentration
and less stress to focus on what you love most: your best writing.
From Daily Writing Resilience by Bryan Robinson. © 2018 by Bryan Robinson. Used by permission from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd., www.Llewellyn.com.
Bryan E. Robinson is a licensed psychotherapist and author of two novels and 40 nonfiction books. He applies his experiences to crafting insightful nonfiction self-help books and psychological thrillers. His multi-award winning southern noir murder mystery, Limestone Gumption, won the New Apple Book Medal for best psychological suspense, the Silver IPPY Award for outstanding mystery of the year, the Bronze Foreword Review INDIEFAB Book Award for best mystery, and the 2015 USA Regional Excellence Book Award for best fiction in the Southeast.
His most recent release is Daily Writing Resilience: 365 Meditations and Inspirations for Writers (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018). He has written for Psychology Today, First for Women, and Natural Health, and his blogs and columns for writers appear in Southern Writer’s Magazine. He is a consulting editor for The Big Thrill, the online magazine for International Thriller Writers. His long-selling book, Chained to the Desk, is now in its 3rd Edition (New York University Press, 1998, 2007, 2014). His books have been translated into thirteen languages, and he has appeared on every major television network: 20/20, Good Morning America, ABC’s World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, NBC Universal, The CBS Early Show, CNBC’s The Big Idea. He hosted the PBS documentary, Overdoing It: How to Slow Down and Take Care of Yourself.