Every day we hear of new strategies for writing faster or book marketing, we learn of a new tool that could help our author business, or we listen to a podcast that gives us more ideas.
We have to keep up, and enjoy keeping up, if we want to thrive in an industry of constant change.
When I was still at my day job back in 2009 and just starting a fledgling business online, I met Clare Edwards at National Speakers Association in Brisbane, Australia. Over coffee one day, I said that I struggled with my energy as a speaker. She tilted her head to one side and said, “It's because you're an introvert.” That comment changed my life because it helped me embrace my introversion and manage it so much better.
So I'm thrilled to bring Clare to you today, because she is incredibly perceptive and smart around what it takes to thrive in a time of change.
Change – sometimes you love it and at other times it feels like your arch enemy.
There are some direct correlations between being a writer or author and the world of change and transition. These are:
- There is no such thing as certainty
- The world can feel like a lonely place
- Staying true to your goal can sometimes feel like dancing the fine line between persistence and stupidity (and we rarely if ever know which side we are on!).
Let’s take each in turn and find some strategies for minimizing stress and maximizing calm.
(1) There is no such thing as certainty … so find it for yourself
Our brains crave certainty. It’s an inbuilt need from our earliest evolution. For example, if we didn’t know where the enemy tribe was lurking or where the lion had its lair we would soon be transitioning from looking for lunch to being lunch.
We can override this instinctual need by aiming to focus on what IS certain in our lives and this very process can help calm down our emotional and stressful responses to uncertainty.
Making a list of what’s predictable at this moment in time such as where we are living, who our family and friends are, any hobbies or interests (outside of writing) that we are pursuing, all help the brain to come back to balance which is really important for our role as writers (see later in the post under WHY).
(2) The world can feel like a lonely place … so stay connected
Writing, more often than not, is a solitary function. The challenge with this is, regardless of whether we are introvert or extravert, the brain is a social organ and needs to connect with other brains to feel secure, reduce stress and create options and ideas.
Often writers lock themselves away which is great when in the throes of an inspired, creative streak, and not so helpful when wanting to build resilience levels and feel in control of change.
Even more important than our need for connection, our ability to contribute and to help others is neurologically twice as rewarding as receiving so you can think of staying isolated as being a tad selfish!
(3) Staying true to your goal can sometimes feel like dancing the fine line between persistence and stupidity … so get context
My life as a facilitator, trainer and speaker is not so different from that of a writer who has decided to take the plunge and make a living out of what they are passionate about.
The reality is that it can take a while to get to that critical point of your passion becoming your income 100%.
Many people I speak to feel as if they have failed if they are struggling to make ends meet from writing and that returning to paid work from other sources is a step down, a defeating compromise. My best advice would be that you can still stay true to your goal, in fact never ever give up on your goal AND at the same time make sure that your bills are paid, so if that means getting some casual or part time work whilst you build your wealth and fame, then so be it – it’s all part of you building your change and resilience story.
So WHY are Finding Certainty, Staying Connected and Getting Context so Important?
Welcome to Neuroscience 101
The amygdala is found in the limbic system, the emotional centre of our brain, and it’s responsible for our fight or flight response. This is great if we need to run from a sabre tooth tigers or enemy tribesman, but not so useful today when our major threat is less obvious (like worrying if you can pay next month’s mortgage or waiting for your first book review).
The Prefrontal Cortex or PFC is the brain’s executive function or CEO, responsible for planning, analysis, evaluation and all the functions lesser mammals have not yet developed.
This is the crux of the problem – when our amygdala is firing, our PFC and other cortical regions responsible for creativity and innovation cannot operate effectively – critical functions for a writer, would you not agree?
The three strategies I have outlined in this article help to dampen down our instinctive fight or flight response and transfer processing to the higher functioning cortex, especially the Prefrontal Cortex.
This then leaves us able to think more clearly, rationally, calmly and also to slow down our brain waves from beta to alpha facilitating creativity, innovation and the firing of our imagination.
“The only constant is change.” Heraclitus (535 BCE – 475 BCE)
The merry-go-round is not going to slow down but we can train our brains to be less stressed, more in control of the rational and learn to enjoy the ride.
Do you struggle to cope with the ever-changing landscape of the author business? Have you found strategies that help you cope? Please do leave a comment or a question below and join the conversation.
If you would like to move from surviving and coping to thriving in challenge and change then please visit our highly acclaimed course on Udemy Dealing with Change and Building Resilience using discount code JFPENN2017
View Comments (9)
Thank you Clare and Joanna for this post. I really needed it right now. I saved up enough cash so that I could quit my job and focus on getting my first novel self-published (and hopefully several more). And then I decided it was a good idea to go travelling. And now I'm in the middle of Laos by myself, after travelling for a month so far in SE Asia, wrangling the last bits of my book into shape (after kindly being told it needs more work--after only about 50 drafts and 2 years of working on it) and I wonder why I'm slowly unravelling. Ha! My brain is dying for certainty and I just keep heaping more uncertainty on top of uncertainty. (No job. Writing my first book. Alone. Foreign country.) I'm going to make a list of everything certain in my life right now. #1 The Creative Penn (and that's Penn with a double n) #2 Cheesecake ... to be continued ...
I'm glad it was useful :) and yes, travelling can really help with sorting out what you want out of life. Find expats and digital nomads - check blogs around those topics - and you will find friends. You are not alone, you just don't know where to find the new friends :)
I love that you're travelling through SE Asia! I grew up there and spent 18 years in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. It is the home of my heart. Enjoy and good luck on the continuing drafts of your book!!
Love your insights Tracy and congratulations for taking immediate action, that in and of itself will help calm down the emotional responses and activate the calmer, rational part of your brain.
Another strategy you can deploy I call 'controlling the controllables'. When you find yourself anxious or worried about something try to identify the level of influence or control you have over it. If it's totally outside of your control then it's time to let go . If you have a degree of influence take action and exert it. The antidote to WORRY (which is an acronym for Working On Rubbish and Ruining Yourself!) is taking purposeful action.
Go well, enjoy the rest of your time out in SE Asia and look forward to reading your book WHEN it's published.
What a great article! I believe we all need help with calming down our over stimulated brains. Not only do we have the merry-go-round, but we have all the other noise bombarding us making it hard to filter down to a quiet spot to create. Thanks for the insight.
Joanna- I'm a friend of Jami Crumpton. You met her at the Smarter Artist conference. I was so disappointed I couldn't go, but I hope to meet up with you somewhere in this world one day. Jami said you were a tremendous amount of fun!
Hi Stacey,
You raise a really good point about filtering down to a quiet spot to create. Recent advances in brain imaging technology have allowed us to identify the conditions for insight to occur, for those 'eureka' moments and, unsurprisingly, it's when our brains at their lowest level of neural activity, for example, in the shower, waking up from a good quality sleep and in particular daydreaming which we seem to have lost the art of or feel guilty about these days.
Thanks for responding to the article, appreciate it and all the very best for the future.
"...our ability to contribute and to help others is neurologically twice as rewarding as receiving so you can think of staying isolated as being a tad selfish!"
I'm sorry to have to point this out, but the above statement doesn't make any sense. If connecting and helping are twice as rewarding as receiving, then seeking only half the reward through isolation is the opposite of selfish. Seeking the greater reward is being a tad selfish. Perhaps she was just looking for a word most of us don't want to describe us.
On the other hand, I understand Ms. Edwards's goal is to help us see the benefits of connection, especially in as isolating a pursuit as writing. Mission accomplished!
You make a good point S.T. and so hopefully I can clarify my meaning here.
Many studies have been done around the act of giving and receiving and how this impacts the reward centres of our brain. In one study half the group were invited to give money to people and half to receive. These people were hooked up to fMRI machines and the levels of endorphins, in particular dopamine and oxytocin (linked to our brain's reward centres) were twice as high in those who gave as in those who received.
Here's a link to a non-academic article that expands on the theory http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_our_brains_make_us_generous
Based on this, the meaning behind my 'selfish' comment was a little tongue in cheek, meaning that if we withdraw we are not in a position to reward ourselves with the act of giving or to reward others with the opportunity to receive (even if it is only half as rewarding for them!).
In addition, Martin Seligman, the founder of the positive psychology movement, has been studying the most highly resilient people in the Western world and two traits they almost all have is that they maintain their support network and they volunteer their time.
Thank you S.T. for taking the time to comment, I very much appreciate it and I wish you every continued success with your writing.
It's so easy to get twisted, distracted, and off course. I love the thought of taking control of the certainty. If I can find balance with what I can control and let go of what I cannot, life smooths out and becomes more manageable.
Thanks for the reminder of what is important (writing!) and what isn't (distractions! zombies! leftovers!)