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10 Truths Only Writers Understand


Albert Einstein was once famously quoted as saying, “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it’s stupid.”

Whether or not Einstein said it, the words are true. By setting those in our life free to be authentically themselves, we free ourselves in the process. Even those we have a difficult time understanding.

Especially those we want to understand, but sometimes can’t.

If you know a writer, you probably wonder if they live in a completely different world than you. Honestly, they do. But trying to change them will never work as well as understanding and accepting them for who they are.

It all begins by seeing the world through their lens and remembering these 10 truths about writers:

1. They challenge ideas most people never think to question.

Writers would rather be authentic than popular. They know that all world-shaking truths once began as a blasphemy. There was a time, not long ago, when everyone believed the world was flat.

It was once a firmly held scientific fact. Once. Every generation has its equivalent of a flat world belief, which it is unable (or unwilling) to see. Writers are the explorers who help the world see differently.

2. They don't simply look at life, they try to see it.

Most people spend their whole lives looking at the world around them and yet never really see it. Writers are always asking “What if? Why not? How come?” It’s this ability to see and connect dots that others don’t even know exist that has immense potential for transformation.

3. They're willing to expose their souls.

Writers want to feel and be fully alive in a world where most people stumble through their days in a numb haze. Words are a writer's sanctuary and asylum, all at the same time. They scream at the page so they, and hopefully the world, might hear a whisper of life.

4. They often experience emotional highs and lows.

Because they’re intuitive and feel deeply, writers often soar to ecstatic heights in one moment and, in the next, can be plunged into sadness or even depression. Their exposed heart is, at the same time, the center of their genius and the source of their greatest struggles.

5. Procrastination is part of their process.

Writers can be chronic procrastinators because many do their best work under pressure. They subconsciously, and often purposefully, put off beginning their work until the last minute simply to experience the rush of the challenge.

6. They often can't separate their worth from their self-worth.

Every writer, especially those who seem confident to everyone else wonder, Do I have what it takes? They constantly compare themselves to others, struggle with jealousy over another’s success, and fail to see their own genius, which may be obvious to everyone else.

7. They have a hard time finishing what they begin.

Writers are addicted to the thrill of taking chances and starting new things. After the initial excitement wears off, though, their work can turn into a slog that they want to escape when a new idea grabs their attention.

8. Their imagination never shuts down. Ever.

A writer’s mind is a machine in perpetual motion fueled by high-octane curiosity. There is no power switch, no shut-off valve, which can be exhausting for others.

9. They believe everything is story.

The shortest distance between humans is a story. Writers know this and weave them into everything they do in life. It takes longer for them to explain something, but explaining isn’t the point. The story is.

10. They need space to create.

Creativity requires the right environment. It may be the back corner of a local coffee shop, an empty room in the house, or simply a good pair of headphones that seals out the world. Wherever it is, allow them to set the boundaries and respect them.

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