inspiration – Lyndsey Hall

You Are Enough

It has been a long and stressful couple of years. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been challenged, we’ve all found it difficult or exhausting at times, and we’re all looking forward to the day this pandemic is considered officially over.

If you’ve found yourself feeling down or hopeless recently, you’re not alone. Many of us feel exactly the same, and it might be difficult to pinpoint the specific feeling or the reason for it, but it’s likely that your resources are completely drained after a second year of being asked to give more than you have, to endure more than you can feasibly endure, to live under the weight of an unbearable weight.

What has been asked of us these past 22 months has been beyond anything we were prepared for or could ever have anticipated, and it will have an effect for years to come, but we’re all in it together.

It’s Not Possible to Give Your Best All of the Time

If you’re anything like me, you probably find yourself thinking or even muttering aloud “I’m doing my best” at least once a day. Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to give your best all the time. Stretching yourself to the maximum isn’t supposed to be sustainable, it’s there for when you need an extra little boost to reach a particular goal or achieve a dream. Your basic level of productivity and activity is absolutely good enough for your day to day life. Anyone who expects more is asking too much of you and may need a reminder of your boundaries.

You are good enough, you weren’t put on the planet to produce and you don’t owe anybody anything, certainly not “your best” 100% of the time.

Write this on a post it note and stick it to your mirror:

If you were always at your best, it wouldn’t be your best, it would be your normal.

You Are Enough

Just being yourself is enough. So, next time you find yourself wondering why you’re struggling, remember: you’re finding it hard because it is hard.

Next time you find yourself thinking “I’m doing my best”, remember: your best is not required 100% of the time, you’re normal is good enough.

Next time you find yourself feeling like you’re not doing enough, being enough, giving enough of yourself, remember: you are enough.

Lyndsey

Non-resolution resolutions for 2022

January is traditionally the month of the ‘fresh start’. Of turning over a new leaf and becoming a dramatically different person who gets up early and drinks green smoothies, or gets 2000 words written daily before the rest of the house wakes up. Of starting new diets and joining new gyms, only to judge and shame ourselves when we fall off the wagon by Pancake Day (or decide to have a lie in and get a zero daily word count).

Let’s all agree that 2022 is the year we don’t bother with resolutions or any of that other bullshit that is designed to make us hate ourselves and spend money we don’t have on solutions we don’t need, for issues that don’t really exist. You are beautiful and unique and perfect, exactly as you are.

Dream on little dreamer

Dreams are good. Goals are better. But with the pandemic still ongoing and an air of uncertainty around absolutely everything we do, is 2022 the year you achieve your big, stretch goals? Maybe not, and it won’t be because you didn’t try hard enough or you didn’t deserve to success. You deserve everything you want, everything the world has to give. But the world doesn’t have much to give to us right now, and we can’t predict whether it will in twelve months’ time, so don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Treat yourself with kindness, take this New Year as slowly and gently as you need to, because we’re all in this together and there’s no need to rush.

Reflections, not resolutions

So, instead of coming up with resolutions or even intentions for 2022, why don’t you take this year to look back at what you’ve achieved, and feel proud? Open that brand new journal you’ve been keeping for best and write a list of reflections, things you enjoyed from the last year, new things you tried, experiences you had where you were wholly present and not worrying about how you looked or getting the best camera angle.

Congratulate yourself for the incredible things you achieved and celebrate the small wins too, anything that brought you joy in 2021.

And at the bottom of your list, write ‘more of this in 2022’.

Let’s be honest, January is the Monday of the year, but if you focus on the good, treat yourself with kindness and give yourself small, manageable goals that feed your soul, then it will be a brilliant start to the new year.

Sending positive things your way!

Lyndsey

Why consistency is better than originality

The title might be a little misleading, I guess it should read “why consistency is just as good as originality”. But when it comes to your writing and publishing career, especially if you’re an indie author, then consistency really is king.

For readers, a book that gives them a completely new perspective and a fresh take on the genre is amazing. But they might love it just as much as that other book that features all their favourite tropes and feels like a warm hug every time they reread it.

And which one can you write more quickly and easily, and publish more often? I’d say for most of us its the consistent book rather than the original book.

Consistency makes a publishing career

As an author, you might have a few truly original books inside you, and I absolutely encourage you to write them! But they can take years to finish because you need the right inspiration, the right headspace, and let’s be honest, we’re much more particular about these special books-of-our-hearts – the weird little WIPs we’re nervous to share in case nobody else likes them – than we are about the ones we know people will love because we’ve put the old, tried-and-true tropes to work.

Your readers love your writing, your voice, your world-building and storytelling. And their absolute favourite thing? When you bring out a new book. So give them what they want and consistently write and publish, don’t keep them waiting because your shiny, original story isn’t quite perfect yet. Get it perfect in the moments of inspiration and flow, when the muse is kind and the sun shines on your soul project.

But in the gaps between, write that comfort book. Employ all of your favourite tropes. Fan of friends-to-lovers? Write it. Secret royalty? Give it to us. And don’t feel bad if it’s not the most original, earth-shattering, mould-breaking story you’ve ever told. We all need those books that feel like coming home and putting on our oldest, cosiest sweater.

Original is overrated

You’ve probably heard that there’s nothing original left in this world, and it’s not far wrong. The rare book that comes out and shakes up the industry, turning everything that’s gone before it on its head, is all the more exciting because it’s just that – rare.

Humans love familiarity. We love comfort. Our brains are really stressed out by the new and different. There’s a reason why tropes are a thing, why so many stories follow the same old patterns and yet are still told centuries, if not millennia, later. It’s because we love them, they make us feel safe, they give us an experience we crave, which is to know how it’s going to end, how the story will turn out, and where the twists and turns will come.

Storytelling is the oldest method of spreading news, warnings and information. Hearing the same story, told in different ways, over and over again, is how we learn. So don’t shy away from retelling, tropes, and even prequels, sequels and tie-in series that fans of your other books will love.

It might be fan-service, but at the end of the day, we’re here to serve our fans, so why not give the people what they want?

Lyndsey