Navigating Expectations vs. Reality: Coping Strategies for Online Writers
After hesitating for a long time, you’ve finally mustered the courage and grit to start writing on the internet and building your personal brand. A week into this new practice, your mind struggles to cope with this new reality. It doesn’t like the amount of effort it suddenly needs to put in. To safeguard its ego and pride like a bullet train, your mind races in all directions, presenting you with stats—7 days of work for zero views, likes, and comments. If you still don’t listen, it cranks up the intensity, telling you things like, "See, I told you your writing isn’t good enough," or "No one cares about your writing or what you write."
The Monkey Brain is Active
Your frightened mind, struggling like a fish out of water, urges you to revert to your old ways as it grapples with unfamiliar territory. By being vocal, negative, and relentless, your mind is looking for openings to halt you from your newfound endeavour. The question is: what do you do? Do you listen to your brain and stop, or do you silence the brain's chatter and continue?
Adjusting to Reality: Learning from Olympians
Your reality is that you’re a novice writer. However, your mind’s expectation is that of an expert writer. Before we begin, let’s do a quick exercise—without using Google, can you name 10 Olympic Gold medalists? Yes, congratulations! You rock! You are part of a select group of individuals worldwide. If not, don’t fret. This is how most people’s memories tend to serve them.
To adjust to my reality, I put myself in the shoes of an Olympian. They put themselves out there day after day, week after week, year after year, for a shot at glory once every 4 years. Even then, success is not guaranteed. Oh! And even if they succeed, most people don’t remember most of them, as we saw above.
Building a Personal Brand Takes Time
After writing for 7 months straight, only 2 of my articles experienced mild success. The surge of views, likes, and comments came after a week to ten days of publishing. I’m telling you this because it has been one of my biggest learnings in the past 7 months. It takes time to build yourself up. Traction for my best articles kicked in after a week to ten days. If you give up after only writing for a week, you’ll never know which article will stick with your audience.
Putting in the Reps and Disrupting Your Life
To succeed, put in the reps, disrupt your life, and quieten your mind. This is how I’ve managed my expectations with reality. Here’s a quick exercise for you:
Your Turn: Managing Expectations with Reality
How do you manage your expectations with your reality? Please share any tricks or tips you might have. It helps me and everyone else in the community.
Community Input
Posting on social media, starting a blog, or creating a content calendar can help structure your approach. Here are some ideas:
Set small, achievable goals to build momentum and avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed. Connect with other writers to share tips and support each other. Remember that every piece of content is a test. Embrace feedback and use it to refine your style. Focus on consistent publication. Regular updates will gradually build up your audience and connection with your readers.Conclusion
The journey of building a personal brand and succeeding as an online writer is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay patient, persistent, and positive. Your hard work will pay off, but be prepared for the long journey. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your personal brand.
Share your thoughts and strategies in the comments below. Let's support each other as we navigate the challenges of online writing.
Cheers,
N