🎉It's Time to Celebrate A Small Idea That Grew With Action. 🎉

Take Pen to Paper: Edition 52 - Fight your negativity bias when you ask, "What if?"

Welcome to my celebration, Friends!

“What celebration?” you ask.

This is the first anniversary of Pen to Paper. One year ago this week, I published my first newsletter. Amidst all my doubts, I’m happy I acted on my desire to share via a newsletter.

Recently, a friend asked me, “I'm actually curious about how you started your newsletter in the first place. Was it a hard decision? or was it one of those projects that you've always wanted to work on?”

What better time to explain my journey than my first anniversary?

When I started writing three years ago, I had no clear path other than exploring ideas for retirement and sharing my thoughts. I wasn’t sure how, where, when, or with whom.

My idea to write was born from reading other online writers.

I read articles on Medium, which led me to X (I’m sorry for the eye-roll), at that time known as Twitter. I read essays by participants in a writing cohort.

I thought, “What if I learned to do this?”

And that’s where it gets scary. Why? You ask. When we ask ourselves ‘what if’ questions, it’s easy to let our negativity bias take control. That bias is grounded in our fears.

My thinking immediately went to:

• I’m not a writer.

• People won’t like what I write; worse, no one will read it.

• And, of course, who cares what I think?

I fought that line of thinking.

Summer of 2021 rolled around. I had time off from school. A new cohort started. The only thing I had to lose was the money it cost. If I learned anything, I figured it would be worth it.

I immediately learned three things:

1. I could write and publish (to X) an essay every day for 30 days. I eventually wrote and published for 500 consecutive days.

2. Making mistakes in public doesn’t hurt. It keeps you humble.

3. I enjoyed the writing and sharing process.

4. I needed an audience and a niche.

All this time, the idea of creating a newsletter tickled my brain. I felt compelled to share. It became the purpose of my writing.

After two years of learning, practicing, writing, and much contemplation, I had one small idea. “What if I just started a newsletter?”

You know what happened. Negative thoughts poured in.

• I don’t have an audience.

• I don’t have a niche.

• No one will read it.

• What will others think?

Thankfully, the positive logical part of my brain (whichever part that is) kicked in. So what if I don’t have an audience or niche? Not to mention, if no one reads it, no one would judge me. Setting up a newsletter was free. I had nothing to lose. It would only cost me time.

I had one rule. I would keep my writing positive by writing about gratitude and the good things we have in life.

So here I am today, celebrating my 1st anniversary with you, my audience.

This newsletter is one of the good things in my life. I have made new friends and reconnected with old friends. Every like and comment inspires my purpose to share the good stuff.

Just like gratitude and positivity grow with practice, so can one small idea. All you have to do is stay positive and act. Soon, you will find a reason to celebrate.

When you ask yourself, “What if..?” push aside the negative and go for it.

Photo by S.G.S. Abel

7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good

1. The picture above is a blooming ginger lily. My stepmother shared some from her yard; now they grow in mine. Ginger lilies are often used in leis. This one just bloomed! I always think of her and my father when I look at them. 💮

2. It’s good to share. One lesson I’ve learned in my two years of writing online is that no matter how small and insignificant you think your story is, it will touch someone. 🥰

3. Steve Henneberry’s Substack newsletter, The Gorilla Who Wants to Be Santa Claus, is one of my favorite reads. I loved the lessons he tells about in Norm McDonald’s joke.

4. Our inner critic often provides the negative answers to “What if…?” In this article, Alex Brogan highlights ten harmful lies we tell ourselves.

5. I read this quick post on Matt’s Blog and loved how it ended. What if you ignore the negative possibilities and take that next step? Read the blog to find out. It’s only one minute of your time.

6. I’m grateful for the many friends who have encouraged me in my writing journey and those who read my writing. That’s you! ✍️🧾

7. I’m grateful for discovering the writing of Nicolas Cole. You may not know him if you’re not in the writing community. He impressed me with his ability to write simply about life lessons. It made me think, “Could I do that?” Here’s a sample from a recent X(Twitter) thread.

It really only takes one small idea.

Thank you for reading and celebrating with me! I hope to see you back next week for the beginning of my second year of Pen to Paper.

💚

Susan

Have you had a celebration or a small idea? Leave a comment. I would love to hear about it.

Do you know someone with a small idea that could use some encouragement? Share this newsletter with them.

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