If I had a dollar for every time someone has told me they wanted to write a book some day, I’d be extremely rich. Each time this happened I asked the person why they hadn’t written that book yet and each time I pretty much received the same answers over and over again.
You see, human beings are pretty predictable and we all have the same basic fears and behavior patterns. When we don’t tackle a project or goal that we really want to achieve, it basically boils down to a few key reasons. The goal of writing a book is no different.
In this article I will attempt to lay out the top six obstacles that may be preventing you from writing your best seller. Then I’ll attempt to give you some tips and reasons why you should start putting pen to paper (for you older folks) or fingers to keyboard (for you modern era folks) today and finally write your book.
Impostor Syndrome
Have you ever thought to yourself while doing your job, “One day they are going to find out that I don’t know what I am doing.” or “Who am I to teach people about X subject? What do I know?” If so, you’ve experienced Impostor Syndrome and let me tell you you’re not alone.
Every single one of us at some point in our lives has felt like we’re not good enough, we don’t know what we’re doing, we feel like we’re faking it, or eventually someone is going realize we’re a fraud. This is absolutely normal and it is also a characteristic of being a high achiever.
If you research anyone who has achieved greatness, you will find someone who doubts their abilities all the time. It’s exactly that feeling that pushes them to try harder, be better, and achieve more than anyone around them.
One of the number one reasons people don’t write a book is that they feel like they aren’t qualified to write one. They are constantly saying to themselves, “Who am I to write a book? What do I know?” My answer to those people? You know a lot more than you give yourself credit for so go write that book!
You see, nobody has your exact experience of life and because of that you’ve got a lot to teach people. Writing a book gives you credibility, authority, and expertise in your field and all those things will help you gradually overcome Impostor Syndrome.
So, how do you get pass Impostor Syndrome enough to write your book? As Nike says, “Just Do It!” Except the fact that you have these doubts and then push them aside just enough to take action. Pick up a pen and paper or sit down at your computer and start typing. Tell yourself that you don’t have to publish the book when you’re done writing it. Just get it down in book form to prove to yourself you can do it and worry about the next step when you get there.
Procrastination
The next obstacle that we all face is procrastination. We all start out with huge goals and ambitions but at some point that little voice in your head convinces you to do it tomorrow or watch just more episode on Netflix.
However, in order to achieve things in our lives we have to push through procrastination and its evil brother laziness and get things done. Procrastination and laziness are stealing your dreams. Don’t let something so simple get in the way of a life or identity you want for yourself.
How? Turn off the TV. Get off of social media for a few hours a day. Stop putzing around the house doing nothing and start writing a few words or pages a day. If you write one page a day at the end of the year you’ll have 365 pages towards your book and it doesn’t take much to accomplish.
Perfection
This next one is one that I have had to fight with my whole life and still rears it’s ugly head from time to time and that is trying to be a perfectionist. In the past I used to put thing off until I could guarantee myself that the finished product, whatever it was, would be perfect. Guess what? I found that I kept putting things off until it was too late and the open door of achievement closed.
I finally learned about the curse of perfectionism from Tony Robbins. I was attending one of his seminars years ago and he stated, “Perfection is the lowest standard.” I remember being really offended by that statement however, after I got over my hurt feelings I realized he was 100% right because there is nothing that is perfect in this world. There is absolutely no way to be perfect and holding yourself to that standard will guarantee a life of pain.
You see, if you wait until your book is perfect before you actually write it, you will never get it written no less published.
The way to defeat this obstacle is to remember that people don’t need perfect. They need real and honest. No one expects you or anyone else to be perfect. It’s an impossible standard so stop holding yourself to it. Let it go and let ‘good enough be good enough’.
Have I completely overcome this obstacle? No. I still want everything to be perfect but I constantly remind myself that holding myself to that standard will prevent me from doing anything worthwhile. Instead I still do my best to do my best and that’s good enough. I guarantee you’ll find misspellings and other things incorrect in my site and in my books. I don’t pretend to be perfect. I am human and I will make mistakes and errors just like everybody else. My goal is to be real, honest, as accurate as possible, and help as many people as I can and that’s all we all can do.
Overwhelm
Any big project like writing a book, creating a new website or online course, building a business will cause overwhelm. Our brains freak out if we try to give it too much information at once especially when it’s something that we have high hopes of achieving.
Overwhelm can come from not knowing where to start, having too many ideas and not knowing which one to pick or feeling like you’re going to forget what needs to be done. Overwhelm can also come from the stress of promising yourself that you will accomplish something big and then being afraid that you’re going to disappoint yourself. All of this is normal. We all feel this way from time to time.
So, how to you overcome this obstacle? First, take a deep breath. You’ve got this. I know you do. Everything you need to know is inside you right now. It’s just all trying to get out at once and it’s making you feel overwhelmed and emotional but you’ve got this.
After you take a deep breath, relax and start making a list of all the things you feel you need to do to accomplish your goal and then take work on them one at a time until you finish them all. Don’t create undo pressure on yourself, try to make each step fun and after achieving each step, celebrate in some way that’s meaningful to you. Before you know it you’ll have your book!
Lack of Organization/Discipline
This next obstacle is a big one for many people. Lack of organization and discipline can be one of the biggest factors keeping people from writing their books. Without some kind of organization and plenty of discipline your book will remain a dream that might happen in the future some time.
So, what do you do about it? Treat writing your book like a job. Schedule definitive times that you write every day and and define exactly what you are going to do during that time. Outlining, planning, and scheduling all the tasks needed to get from idea to published book is the only way to guarantee you’ll get to the finish line.
Fear
Good old fear can keep you from accomplishing everything. Fear that no one will like the book (Hint: If you don’t write it, no one will have the chance to like it.), fear that it will or won’t be successful (people fear success as much as failure), fear of being judged, and more can stop a book from ever getting past the dream stage.
We all have fears whether we admit it or not. Fear is part of life. It’s what keeps us alive but it’s also what keeps us from achieving our dreams sometimes. The way to overcome your fears about writing a book is like I said above, just do it. It’s okay to be afraid but when you do, take a deep breath and do it anyway.
So, what about you? What is keeping you from writing your book? I would love to hear what you have to say about this subject in the comments below.
