3 Things I Learned After Leaving Medium
I started writing on Medium April of 2021 hoping for fast results. The only fast thing I did was quit.
The last time I published an article on Medium was April of 2021. This was post Covid and passive income was the name of the game. Like everyone else, I hopped on the bandwagon hoping for fast results.
After a couple months with little to no results. I quit. That’s the thing about bandwagoners; we are always looking for the next thing to hop on. Once the trend dies, our desires and excitement also fade. That is until we find something else to hop on and the cycle continues.
It is now September 2023 and it has taken me nine months to convince myself to return to writing. I made it my New Year’s Resolution to return to Medium in January. It is now September and I finally found the strength to return.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for different results. Unfortunately, my fixed mindset of how to approach this platform resulted in failure over and over again. I am proud to say that failure is my greatest asset. By failing often, I found the strength to try again. Afterall, what’s the worst that can happen, I fail?
During my break from Medium, I learned a few things I am hoping to utilize to finish 2023 strong and build a community.
- Discipline in one area will translate to other areas
This is a duhh, but really think about it. If you are not disciplined in one area of your life; whether it be fitness, eating well, journaling etc. How can you expect be be disciplined in other areas. I knew that I wanted to obtain success on Medium, but I didn’t know where to start. I found other areas in my life that I lacked discipline in and focused on that.
For example, my workout routines were very inconsistent. Sometimes I’d go to the gym, other times, it was up in the air. Enough was enough. Finally, I focused on waking up at 5am each day and working out. NO EXCEPTION. Because I have been consistent and disciplined in this area, my brain can utilize that as I try to focus on other areas. I now have evidence that I DO have discipline and I can use that as fuel.
2. Find your rhythm
I spent more time researching ways to obtain success on Medium than actually doing it. In my head, the busy work convinced me that I was doing everything I could to achieve optimal performance. Although I was doing all the busy-work: watching Youtube videos, reading articles, finding a niche etc, I never actually DID anything. As a result, I spent my time doing nothing when I could’ve used that time to find my rhythm. It is unrealistic, for me, to publish every single day as others have suggested. It is realistic to publish one good article once a week rather than random ones each day. Publishing everyday might work for one person if that’s how they achieved success but that doesn’t mean I copy and paste the exact same methods hoping for the same results.
3. Rest
I am notoriously bad at giving myself grace. Grace is something I can give to others effortlessly, but I often expect 120% from myself each time. As I learn to give myself grace, I can rest. I am assured that I have done the best I can. There is always room for improvement, but I can only come to that conclusion if I give myself grace and time to improve. As we come to the close of 2023, may we all give ourselves grace- especially when it comes to completing those last minute resolutions.
I am hoping to take what I’ve learned in the last two years to see good results. This will require patience, hardwork, adn that annoying little word, discipline.
