theshitdetector

Let’s stop the nonsense. Let’s stop pretending we are important and our lives are so important. That the world really cares if we write or if we don’t.

I was in a meet-up once with a bunch of writing enthusiasts. I came to learn about the work they’re doing. I came to learn about their perspective. One of them said, “I will never write because if I write, I will expose myself like dirty laundry.” I pushed back, but then I realized it would be a dead-end. This girl was 100% convinced that she was so important that the world would care so much if she started writing. I wanted to tell her I’ve been writing and making films for over 20 years; who cares about me?

The other girl called herself a “superhuman woman.” When I looked at her links, she wasn’t writing anything. Why do you call yourself a superwoman? Are you using it as a defense mechanism for your lack of will to write? Or your ill-ability to express yourself.

The other two guys were even worse. One never wrote a single word in his life, and the other guy was blogging about tourist attractions. When I sent my self-published book to one of them a few weeks ago, I received only one word of praise in return, along with a hundred negative comments. Probably you guessed it; this person didn’t write anything in her life. I was writing two new books then, so I never talked to these people again.

But if that meeting were real life – then these people would fail. If I pointed a gun to their heads, telling them their only permission was to write – would they write? I don’t have to say it, this hypothetical situation where these people know the importance of writing something – anything – hence the gun metaphor.

I doubt they would want to write because their fear is deeply installed in them. I think the solution, the antidote is not the gun, but the anti-entitlement medicine, making them feel they are not significant. They are a spec, a dot in the vastness. Whether they write or not – no one cares. So maybe they needed to get rid of the notion that they were fulgent or were born special.

If I point a gun to your head again, would you consider it? Would you consider writing something? Pick a journal, buy a notebook from your local bookstore, nothing fancy. The key is to start scribbling. The key is to start writing your ideas down. Don't worry too much about what people think of you or your writing. Or if you have changed. There is a chance they might hate you anyway.

Writing will help you understand yourself more. It’ll help you make a connection with your inner thoughts, with your inner soul. It’s the thing you can control when the world is falling apart when you're facing a dilemma, or worse a tragedy. Thinking you are significant or important, won’t help you.

As I write this, I think about how many times I thought about what people would think if I did something – you know what? None of these thoughts matters. The 99% of people are displeased anyway, maybe not with me, but with themselves. Why worry if you will really change the world when you only need to change yourself?

When I was 19, I had a friend who claimed he was going to change the world. Fifteen years later, I saw him and I was so disappointed. This person who claimed he was going to change the world, couldn’t even change himself: he was miserable, addicted to alcohol, and his life was falling apart. If you think you really want to change something start with yourself – start with writing a word.

Now, I ask you the question again: do I really need to point a gun to your head? Maybe something in you moved, maybe reading this post inspired you to write something…anything.