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Han's avatar

Thanks for the tips! The first part definitely reminded me of when I finally made it into art school.

During orientation the teacher kindly reminded us: "You might've been the best artist in your building or even your street but now you're in a place full of people who were the best in theirs. In here you're not the best anymore."

I was like "Damn! Brutal but true."

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sol s⊙therland 🔸's avatar

Han, that's such a powerful and humbling reminder. Entering a new environment where everyone is exceptionally talented can be daunting, but it's also an incredible opportunity for growth. Thanks for sharing :)

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Han's avatar
May 24Edited

Yes! It's at that moment where you have to make a choice: Do I let this take me down and give up before I even start or do I continue to do my best and strive to stand out among all these talented people? Many people choose the first.

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J.K. Lund's avatar

Well stated. We best not compare ourselves to others but compare ourselves to who we were yesterday or last week. Even 1% improvement every week has an incredible compounding effect over time.

At Risk & Progress, I am breaking the rules of what a newsletter “should be.” I do not publish and move on. I go back to older works, edit, and revise, even if no one will ultimately read the updated versions. It’s all about continuous improvement.

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Tyler Dublin's avatar

That's actually brilliant

I feel we always communicate the same essence, just with different words

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sol s⊙therland 🔸's avatar

J.K., I like your take. Comparing ourselves to who we were yesterday encourages growth and self-improvement without the pressure of competing with others. Love how you're also improve what's already written too, quite similar to the Craftsman mindset from Japan. Have you heard about that before?

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J.K. Lund's avatar

Only tangentially. I follow the SpaceX approach to rocket design...launch the minimum viable product and the iterate frequently. So, the essays I publish are "good enough" but great improved every few months.

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Shanjitha's avatar

Great tips. Also sharing our work can be helpful in reinforcing our voice. It is always good to know how people resonate with ours.

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Nur Nadar's avatar

Absolutely! Thank you and im glad you got something out of it :)

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Kathy Enriquez-Nguyen's avatar

I def agree! I only started journaling and reading more again. But everything else, I def find it's been so helpful. I really love the not comparing ourselves to others. Because that's when we lose our own voice and then all we see are our faults. Which then leads to losing motivation.

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Paul Caloca's avatar

Nur, I appreciate your excellent advice for a new writer such as myself. I'm transitioning from formal technology writing and working on finding my personal writing voice. I'll use these tips in my own journey of discovery.

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Karen Abplanalp's avatar

Ahhh so good to remember the joy and comfort of teenage journaling 🙏🏽Thank you, Nur, for authenticity push too! 🪲

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Kerri Elizabeth's avatar

So many great points and ways to experience writing, I’ve been writing since I was old enough to write , journaling has been my best friend my entire life and wow the voice carried many levels of creativity and emotions and change that’s forsure. I taught my kids and my kids teach theirs now. It’s an amazing way to learn and I believe where all solutions come to light.

Staying yourself , be authentic , you’re right, that’s the key! I think often we judge ourselves before anyone else even gets a chance.. letting that go in writing and allowing our voice to change is the absolute gift we get in writing.

Excellent journey through writing.

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Nur Nadar's avatar

Beautifully said, Kerri :)

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sol s⊙therland 🔸's avatar

Good work, Nur :)

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Nur Nadar's avatar

Thank you Sol!!!

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Jun 6
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Nur Nadar's avatar

thank you so much Sarah! that means a lot

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