Pain is a tool, it's just not fun to call it that. In this episode of my podcast for authors, Happy Write Now, we discuss how changing the way you view your pain can help you become a better author.
Below you will find the transcript and show notes for Episode 2 of the HWN podcast. Share your thoughts on the episode in the comment form below. I'm excited to jump on this journey with you! What are your favorite mindset and writing podcasts? Let me know.
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Transcript:
Before I get into podcast #2 - I have a message for you. There is something you can learn from every experience and a growth mindset will take you far.
Intro: Welcome to the Happy Write Now podcast. I am your host Rebecca Kelsey Sampson, an authorpreneur, fantasy and personal development author, and a marketer. When I joined the writing community I saw how difficult it was for writers to say out loud that they were an author. I witnessed first hand the limiting beliefs we were fueling into each other. Through Happy Write Now my mission is to help authors fight those beliefs, claim their personal power, and take charge of their journey - publishing deal or not. If gaining mindset advice for your author life sounds good for you, pull up a chair at the table.
Welcome to episode two of HWN, AKA Happy Write Now. If we haven’t met before, my name is Rebecca. Nice to meet you!
Today we are talking about perspective shifts and how everything can be turned into a positive. Not in an obnoxious way, but more so in an impactful learning kind of way.
While I’m typically the peppy one around the table, I know that telling someone to simply be more positive about a scenario can just rub everyone the wrong way. Telling someone to just be more positive feels like you are telling them to invalidate their pain.
So I’m here to tell you that no, being positive isn’t the message I’m trying to say today. What I am talking about is seeing the benefit from every scenario.
Because, seriously, everything is for your benefit.
That might be seen as an unpopular opinion, but every shitty thing that has happened in your life has actually taught you a lesson. If it hasn’t, then it has probably been a scenario that has come into your life over and over again until you did find the lesson - am I right? When you think about the lesson an event or experience has taught you rather then the pain it inflicted, it’s a lot easier to find gratitude for the experience.
So here is an example from my personal life. We are going to get pretty vulnerable for a second.
The person you are talking with right now, has gone through an emotional transformation. One year ago, I would never have launched a podcast. I wouldn’t have continued working on my fiction novel. I would not have started a business or engaged with the community at all.
Rebecca from August 2017 would have spent her weekend watching TV and complaining about her life. She wasn’t grateful. She wasn’t growth focused.
Then my husband was diagnosed with cancer. There is a lot that isn’t good about cancer. That goes without saying. But now that my family has gone through this hurdle and my husband has finished 12 rounds of chemotherapy, I can see how this scenario has helped us all grow into the people we needed to be. This was a push that we all learned from and grew stronger with.
Happy Write Now wouldn’t exist. I wouldn’t be in the middle of beta reading the third draft of my fantasy novel. I probably would have given up again, like I have with my other books and adventures. I found my strength and confidence this year because I had to. I had no other option but to succeed if my family was to survive.
If the world hadn’t rearranged itself and gave my husband cancer, it probably would have taken me another few years to gain even half of the success I have now.
So think for a second about the worse experience in your life. What did it teach you? Did it lead you down another path, that helped you in the long run? Did it bring you a new understanding of your work? Did this shitty scenario help you push harder and hustle more so that you could get out of a bad place faster? Did it help you become a better writer or finally give you that jumpstart that you needed to dive into your creative passions?
Send me a DM on Instagram @RebeccaKSampson and let me know about what shift this horrible scenario made in your life and how you are grateful for it now.
And you know what, this is kind of awkward for me to say. While I would NEVER have wished this pain onto my husband, we both see now how it has helped us as a family unit. Knowing that something good came out of something so horrible makes it a little easier to move past it.
If you want to know in more detail about this shift I went through, because there is a lot that I left out, you can watch a replay of the livestream I titled YOU ARE AN AUTHOR. It will be linked in the shownotes. If you are a member of the HWN newsletter, it is also linked in our Members Only area for your convenience.
Outro: Stay tuned for another episode right after this one, sharing with you how to find writing inspiration when you feel stuck.
Thank you so much for listening today. To get the most out of HWN, join the newsletter. It comes with author freebies and a Members Only page. Subscribe now at https://www.RebeccaKSampson.com/Join
It will be linked in the show notes.
If what you heard today resonated with you, please share this episode on social media. Take a screenshot right now and tag me in an Instagram Story or on Twitter. My username is @RebeccaKSampson. As you know, reviews help authors and that is no different here. Leave a review on your favorite podcast app to help spread the word. I’ll talk to you soon!
Intro and outro music by: Ikson - Stardust