Forums » Smalltalk » Harsh Truth (And My Struggle)

Hello everyone, CircuitVanguard here. I don’t want this story to be long so I’ll try to keep it as concise as it can be.

So I’ve been suffering from self-doubt, perfectionism, and procrastination. I always compare my writing to other people and I feel like it’s currently taking a toll on my mental health. I tend to use AI to improve my writing but I realized that it’s only going to make things worse (not to mention the AI slop that’s been going on for a while now).

It’s not a good look for me, honestly. Sure, my passion will still be writing but I can’t help but realize that it’s probably impossible to achieve now. I don’t know what else to do at this point.

So yeah, that’s my story, I guess. I know it’s relatively short but I can’t think of something better to say right now. But yeah, that’s all I can say about it.

I feel you.

"You are always your own worst critic."

A saying I heard a long time ago that's stuck with me for years. It's painfully true. It's so easy to compare your writing to other people. I still find myself doing it! It's a really hard habit to break, but it can be done.

Some friendly advice from me: the only person you should compare your writing to, is yourself. Take a look back at your old work and something you've written recently. I have no doubt you'll see an improvement.

Please, don't give up on yourself!

Hey honey,

I won’t tell you things like ‘it will all be better soon’ or ‘all strength for you’, I believe you to have heard those words numerous times.

I rather say three things:
First you’re doing great to tell about your issues, saying ‘I am’, that’s just perfect, you’re aware.
Second I propose you to ‘ban’ those ‘ould’ words : I should/ I could / I would and simply say ‘I do’.
Third and most important, as you love to write, well, write about it. I heard of a guy who lost an arm in war situation, he started to RP using a character who lost an arm too and made this character live all kind of weird and awkward situations, just to know how to handle this lost limb. You can do same, write with a character similar to you and let it live situations that you think not be able to handle properly. (Even if you do handle everything very well)

Lovely

Lizbeth

Okay, here's my take,

I do martial arts and started quite late in life. I often see the younger Karateka doing kicks and moves that I feel I can only dream of ever doing. I would basically have to shave twenty years off my age to ever be as good, sharp or as fit as them. I raised my concerns that I would never be good enough with my sensei and here's what he said.

"You aren't in competition with them, you are only in competition with yourself. If you leave here tired, but feel like you have accomplished something then you have grown. YOU have improved, you can't always be better than everyone else, but you can improve yourself."

You can apply this lesson to everything. You will never improve by using AI - that's not you writing. I use AI for PFP's as I can't draw, but I'm open about that, but I do want to improve my writing. Use AI to check your grammar and have confidence in your writing, I promise you you're better than you think you are!

Try to stop overthinking and let your mind be free, that's why we write isn't it? I don't care if my partner's work has a few typo's in it, or sometimes the grammar could be better - in fact I prefer it, it means I'm writing with a human, not a robot.

Hope that helps and good luck with your journey - because that's what life is.

C.