Stop Punishing Yourself!

And what I mean by stop punishing yourself, is I’m trying to stop punishing myself.

Wait, what?

If you’re a writer, you know what I mean. I constantly feel guilty about not making my quota, or not getting enough work done, or taking too many breaks, or… etc. etc. I try really hard not to let it squeeze my chest with anxiety and self-loathing, but some days are harder than others.

I have two ways to pull yourself out of this self-induced-funk. They don’t always work, but nine times out of ten they do.

And trust me, I’ll be utilizing them today! 

Reward System!

This one is simple: write for an hour and reward yourself with whatever you want. For me it’s usually whatever TV show I’m currently binge watching.

The only problem with this is I always talk about a reward system, but rarely practice it. And the funny part is, whenever I do it, it works perfectly for me. But my own psychosis tells me “I don’t deserve a reward,” “I haven’t done enough work to justify something as awesome as a reward.” (You get the idea!)

This is all bull! If you find yourself saying anything of the sort, tell yourself to shut up! You DO deserve a reward! Everyone needs to relax and rejuvenate. Believe it or not, it will help your writing!

So set up a system. I’m going to do three rounds today. Wish me luck!

Get the Blood pumping.

Whether it’s a walk, a jog, a run, jumping jacks, yoga… as long as your moving, it’ll help break you out of your negative headspace. You’d be amazed at how simply running in place for a few minutes can boost your mood.

I try to do 20 jumping jacks every hour. It helps me keep track of the time I’m spending in front of the computer, and makes me feel psychologically and physically better.

Bottom line is: you can’t stop your brain from being an a-hole, but you can try and re-route some of that negative thinking. It’s a daily struggle for me, but I’m trying to break out of my self-destructive patterns by reminding myself that self-punishment doesn’t get me anywhere. If anything, it holds me back.

So give yourself permission to reward yourself once in a while without feeling guilty about it! It will make a world of difference!