The biggest obstacle you'll face as a content creator
There's one obstacle we all face as content creators.
Whether you're yet to start creating content online or been on this journey for some time, we will all have to face this:
Ourselves (and our self-doubt).
❌ We procrastinate and make excuses to not get started
❌ We blame "lack of inspiration" for not taking action
❌ We prioritise clients and other people's opinions over ourselves
Although, our thoughts, feelings, opinions, impulses, are simultaneously the most important aspect of our own content creation - with our unique experiences and mindset.
We can truly benefit from leaning into who we are, because no one is the same as YOU!
Your opinion, your creative decisions, and your personality are what separate you from others and make you unique!
Over the years of my own content creation journey, I've come up across this obstacle a fair few times. Questioning myself or doubting myself.
These are 3 ways I've learned to deal with this:
1️⃣ Taking a break regularly. (A proper one.)
Taking the time to do something that feels "unproductive" in the moment can sometimes be the most productive thing you can do.
This could be:
😊 A walk around the park
😊 Reading a book
😊 Going out for food with friends
This will help change your perspective, give you new inputs, help sort your thoughts, and make you see things with different eyes afterward.
Sometimes, that perspective shift is all you need.
2️⃣ Start small. Think big.
Remember the big WHY behind your journey. The huge goal.
Then work out the smallest task you can do today to work towards that goal.
Forget everything else (for now).
Progress is not about avoiding mistakes, it's about learning from as many mistakes as possible, so face them head first.
Challenges are just opportunities for growth, disguised as problems.
(I have these words on the wall, next to my desk, as a daily reminder.)
3️⃣ Ask yourself "How" and "Why" questions
These questions can get you so much further than the "what"-questions.
The "what" gives us the tactical answers while the "How" and "Why" can give us a better sense of the overall strategy.
I'll explain this point in more detail below 👇
📉 The importance of questions
Questions are an important fundament of good content.
Direct specific questions or rhetorical ones.
It is the core of most podcasts, it is how a lot of YouTube videos and TED talks start, and it is what makes storytelling so powerful. It is what makes us develop and it is the concept of how our school system works.
Without questions, we wouldn't learn. We wouldn't grow.
So asking the right questions becomes critical for our own development.
The problem is that we are often focusing on asking "What"-questions instead of "How" or even "Why".
We ask successful creators what they did to get to where they are, where to start, what programs or platforms to use, when to post, and what to post.
We focus on tactics but neglect the strategy. We look at the GPS instead of learning how to control the car.
🚙 When we want to get our driver's license, we need to do 2 tests. A theoretical test and a practical one. One is useless without the other.
We need to know both WHAT to do but also HOW to do it.
🦵🧠 Sometimes we tend to forget that the same thing goes with our body and mind.
Knowing what to do is just a small part of the equation. Knowing how to do it is where the true magic happens.
How do you find the motivation to get up in time?
How do you push through when you don't feel like it?
How do you find inspiration and creativity when you need it?
How do you keep going day after day, week after week, year after year?
🔁 You don't have to be the smartest person, you just have to be the person you strive to become long enough and often enough.
Learning how to control yourself, your body and your emotions is the underrated skill you need to pay way more attention to in order to actualize the theory you collect along the way. Your mind and your body have to work in alignment.
I've found this to be true for both physically challenging goals (becoming a better ice hockey player) and mentally challenging goals (becoming a better video editor and solopreneur).
❌ This is something we sadly never really get taught in school, where we just instead get bombarded with information and we have to figure out ourselves how to conserve and convert that information into action.
So ask yourself more "How"-questions and less "What"-questions.
Google can answer most of your "What"-questions but only you can answer your "How"-questions, because they can often be unique to your situation.
You probably already know what to do. Just find a way to make it happen.
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