Last week I wrote about payoffs for not writing. In part 1, I covered what I call “negative payoffs.” Today, let’s look at positive payoffs—the positive outcomes you avoid when you don’t write. These, believe it or not, do constitute payoffs for not writing.
Once again answer the question, “What is my payoff for not writing? What do I ‘earn’ or ‘get’ when I don’t write?” Maybe you prevent yourself from becoming more prosperous than one of your siblings or your parents. Maybe you perpetuate your belief that you aren’t good enough or qualified enough to be an author. Maybe you don’t have to face the criticism of your friends and family, about whom you plan to write. Last week’s example of not living out your father’s dream of you becoming an author could actually be seen as a positive payoff of not writing as well.
Whether or not your payoffs are negative or positive really matters little. The main point lies in discovering your payoffs for not writing. If you believe on some level—even subconsciously—that you have something to gain by not writing, surely you will not write. That means you won’t achieve your writing goals.
Once you know what payoffs stop you from writing, it’s time to create payoffs for actually writing. That’s the subject of tomorrow’s post.
Leave a Reply