How I struggled this week

and what helped me...

Dear readers,

I am struggling this week. I have been sitting down several times to write my newsletter, and every time I had such a hard time putting down my words. Sometimes I would even look for excuses not to open my laptop: “Oh, the laundry needs my attention.” “The dog needs to go for a walk.” “I better make tea before I sit down.” And so on. You get the idea.

At first I thought, I had just one of those days, where I am not in a creative mood and tomorrow will be a better day. But then my inner demons showed up and told me: “Your writing sucks.” “You have nothing to say.” “You are not a writer.” “You have no talent.” And all these voices weren’t helping. They made me avoid writing even more.

I mean those demons have a point: I am not a writer and my writing isn’t really good. Since I started hanging out on Substack, I have subscribed to some excellent newsletters. People, who have been writing for a living. They have published their own books, worked for magazines and newspapers or have been writing a blog for many years and had a ton of practice and expertise in writing.

So last night, I stepped back from the desk and the voices in my head to reflect on what was happening. I knew, it wasn’t fair comparing myself to these writers and expect to write just as brilliant as them. Writing is a skill, just like drawing, playing an instrument or let’s say photography. You have to put in many, many hours to practice and learn. Sure, talent always makes things easier, but even then there is no way around it: you have to practice if you want to get better. The famous photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson once said “Your first 10.000 photographs are your worst.” And even if this might sound exaggerated when I look at my early photographs from 15 years ago, I have to say, he was probably right.

But if I hadn’t started taking all these photos and hadn’t practiced again and again to learn that skill, I still would be just snapping happily away only half aware of what I am doing. I would not be there with my photography where I am today.

Realizing this, helped me not just to quiet my inner demons, but also to take off the pressure I kept putting on myself to write the most perfect, deep and meaningful posts. If I keep practicing my writing here and “behind the scenes”, I am confident that I will get better. Just as I did with my photography. I just hope it won’t take 10.000 newsletters!

That all being said, I would like to end this weeks newsletter with a few of the photos I took while on vacation in beautiful Denmark. All photos were taken on hikes with my husband and my dog. It is such an amazing place. I hope you enjoy this little dose of Nature’s magic.

Thank you for being here and for reading this week’s newsletter. Feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts and get some feedback.

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