Awaken The Author Within

There is greatness within you

Awaken the author within

I had a phone conversation with a lovely woman who immediately recognized my name upon me introducing myself. I was pleasantly surprised as she didn’t hesitate to mention that she read my articles and she’s a fan. I want to thank her for inspiring me to write this piece as it is dedicated to her and to anyone out there who like her has the talent to write or started writing from childhood but never continued to pursue it.

There may be several reasons for this.

One of the main reasons is that life gets in the way. As much as we hate to say it and it is used as an excuse, life as we know it does get in the way. The freedom you had as a child with no responsibility allowed you the time to be as creative as you wished to be.

Following that, as a child, you were encouraged to be creative. You were allowed to think whatever you wanted and build on your imagination. You were allowed and encouraged to dream. Maybe because it is expected of children to do so but as you get older, your parents take a different turn and stop encouraging that talent, creativity and imagination and replace it with responsibility which by the way, continues throughout your adult life hence life getting in the way.

Another reason is that many of your desires and talents are placed on the back burner, albeit, not dead; to be resurrected when a spark ignites it. Something, someone, a word or circumstance gives you a flashback to a time in your life when you were happy and emotionally free doing activities you enjoyed such as your writing, drawing or painting.

The question is, how do you get around it?

Simple. Upon waking in the morning and when returning to bed at nights, allow your mind to digress to wherever it wishes to go. If your mind tends to head in a direction of unhappy places, put up a mental stop sign and bring yourself back to those moments of joy and happiness. Get really self aware and tap into your inner being and source.

Always and I mean always have a notepad, pen and a good book in certain places in the house such as the bedside table, the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room...Well just about everywhere from the looks of it; so that no matter where you turn, you are surrounded! You have no choice but to ooze out those creative thoughts. Plus anyone coming to your home will immediately feel the presence of positive thoughts flowing through your home that they either encourage it or get out!

Start hanging around the right people who will encourage and provide you with the energy to keep going. You will feed off each other’s energy. Like minds do powerful things. Join a writing group or literary club and volunteer. Surrounding yourself with anything literary, even attending book launches and reading at book clubs will reinvigorate your creative juices. Remember to always walk with your notepad and pen or recording device!

‘Being Mary Jane’ is a Netflix series I got hooked on and one of the many things that stood out about her was she was always writing her thoughts down, in a notepad or sticky notes which she placed all around her space that even when she had friends over who didn’t know that side to her, she would take them down so they wouldn’t find out. It was quite noticeable that by doing so, she felt out of place and had to place them back because that’s who she is. Let no one make you hide who you are and how you wish to express yourself. Find that way you best wish to express your inner thoughts and feelings and stick with it.

I had to borrow the title of this article from one of my favorite motivational authors and coach, Anthony Robbins’, ‘Awaken the Giant Within’. A play on that title was so appropriate to show you that you do have a sleeping giant within you. One that wants you to resurrect your thoughts on paper. So why put off the inevitable? Follow the tips I suggested and let me know if it works for you.

Disclaimer: This article was first published with the Jamaica Gleaner and has been edited and updated for the audience here at Substack.