Writing My 1st Article | A1

If you’re reading this, that means I did it. I freaking wrote my first article. It took so much thinking of what to write about, I decided to write about writing my first article.

After countless hours, days, months, years of wanting to put my thoughts and slice of mind into the world, it finally happened. And my oh my it feels like a massive victory, like winning the Super Bowl (cause I totally know what that feels like).

So how did it finally happen? Many things.

1. I owned my goal. I owned that I wanted to make writing an article real, no matter how I was going to get there, I was willing to go for it, because I owned it.
2. I sought help. Doing things alone is tough. Really really tough. As much as I want to turn ideas into action, if I’m riding solo, I tend to let distractions in, pushing my goals out. My friend Mackenzi and I decided to hold each other accountable to a shared goal, created a plan, gave ourselves deadlines, and started making it happen. Owning that you need help does not show you are weak, it shows you want to be stronger, and you will be stronger because of it. Thank you Mackenzi!
3. I stopped overthinking. I got sick of thinking so much. About what the article should be about, about needing to publish with no imperfections, about waiting for the perfect moment to take the leap into writing my 1st article.
4. I put distractions aside. I decided my goal of writing was more important. I stopped checking social media feeds while trying to focus. I stopped typing notes and never looking at them again. I stopped allowing my excuses control my desire to write. I stopped accepting the narrative that my work had to be perfect to share.
5. I just jumped.

I just jumped. I literally jumped out of the shower to a pen and paper to write this.

Just went for it.

And it feels real good.

I waited a LONG time before I jumped.

Waiting and waiting and waiting for the right time to arrive means waiting forever.

That “right” time never just “arrives”. The right time is created when you jump.

It will never feel right, it will never feel complete, it will never feel completely thought out, it will never feel flawless, it will never feel untouchable. And that’s why just doing it is so beautiful. You are a human, you have flaws, you make mistakes. Why would your article be any different? By taking the leap, you are accepting you are not perfect, not complete, not flawless. It is one of the most beautiful displays of accepting your humanity.

If you take the leap, one of two things can happen.

1. You can fall flat on your face.
2. You can soar.

Each scenario, provides the same exact win of an outcome.

1. If you fall flat on your face, you learn, you improve, you understand exactly what you would’ve never known if you didn’t try.
2. If you soar, you learn, you improve, you understand exactly what you would’ve never known if you didn’t try.

Same exact outcome. Why not leap?

It will feel freeing. It will feel authentic. It will feel real.

A feeling will overcome and fuel your entire body like a fresh glass of water; pure, full, whole. A feeling that is endlessly more preferable than any distraction could ever provide; temporary smiles, awoken regret, loss of time.

A focused dialogue will start to build in your head:

“Should I just check my messages, or instagram, or facebook, maybe someone messaged me? Maybe I’ll just pop onto YouTube for a fewwww minutes. It’ll be quick.”

“No I shouldn’t.”

“But mannnn, it’ll just be a nice quick break.”

“Not today. This is more important.”

When I give into these distractions, I sit with a muddled brain and no action towards what I want to achieve.

When I don’t give into these distractions, I get going, and those wants to get distracted leave my head, as I begin riding my focus to where I truly want to be.

Soon the narrative of waiting to jump will begin to change in your head:

“I do not feel ready. So I am going to jump.”

“Any clue what is on the other side?”

“No. That’s out of my control.”

“What happens if it all goes wrong?”

“No such thing. I will learn, and I will keep improving. What is in my control, is taking the first step to even be able to look on the other side.”

Once you start jumping, you’ll feel it, and you’ll want to keep jumping! I can’t even express how excited I am to jump again with article 2.

In order to get to article 2, I had to write article 1.

Could I have added better vocab?

Could I have painted a better picture of my mindset?

Could I have revised this another time?

Yes.

But honestly, who cares? If I would’ve done those things, you wouldn’t be reading this right now, and may never have been given the opportunity to. Because it would have simply stayed sitting static in my notes, waiting, waiting, waiting… You reading this right now is way more important than perfection.

This is my first article.

This article is not perfect.

This article is nowhere near perfect.

And in all reality, I’m glad it’s not. It’s me. All it had to be, was me, to be good enough to share, really. I care that it happened. I care that an article is up right now for people like you to read. And to me, that feels almost perfect.

Tips recapped to help jump (mix and max to your needs!)

• Own your goal. Own that you want to make it real, no matter how you get there.
• Seek help. Find someone you trust to help hold you accountable. Share your goal with them, think through how they can best help you, set a deadline for yourself, and act upon this plan. If you can’t find someone, I will gladly help you out! (grant.mooney3@gmail.com) — see below
• Don’t overthink it. Don’t let overthinking paralyze you.
• Let your distractions distract themselves, not you.

Most importantly

• Just jump. You can only benefit.

If you would like someone to hold you accountable to positively help push you to take the first leap, I’m here for you. Please feel free to email me at grant.mooney3@gmail.com and I will be sure to help in any way that works for you. Huge thank you to Mackenzi for doing the same for me. Without her helpful push, I do not think article #1 would be readable by you right now.

Would also love any feedback on the article, general comments, anything at all would be super cool!

So,

When will be your first article?