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The stupidly simple writing hack I wish I knew sooner
I’ve been hanging onto this for about 5 years now.
I found this interesting article…
And I’ve been dragging it around with me on my google drive (in PDF form) ever since. And I’ve been threatening to put it to good use one day.
Well that day is today.
I’m going to use it to help you eliminate that feeling you get when your ideas are jammed up somewhere behind your eyes, and you’re not sure how to get them to pour out effortlessly and gracefully onto the page.
First, a story….
In middle school I was one of the fastest hockey players on my team.
But by high school?
I barely moved at all.
I got sucked into the world of internet forums and video games.
Reason being, I could socialize well on the interwebs, but in real life I had the social prowess of a duck-billed platypus (good thing I had a girlfriend at the time or I’d have never left the house).
Anyway, here’s the thing:
I’ve always had a creative streak in me,
I loved writing, I loved telling stories, but for years I felt completely and utterly blocked. Like there was something big inside me that I just couldn’t get out.
I spent years grinding away like this…
As a result, I always felt like I was working to build someone else’s dreams and never my own. I’d try to prioritize my creative pursuits but nothing good would come out. So I’d head back to work the next day, at some job I hated, wondering if things would ever change.
Until one day I decided to flip the switch.
I ditched the late nights and video games forever. I made my body a priority again. I started doing yoga every day. And I spent more time in nature than behind a keyboard.
It didn’t just make me stronger or healthier.
It woke up my mind.
I didn’t know why at the time, I just knew I felt better when I was moving. Ideas I could never get from the desk flowed freely on the trail.
Which brings me back to that dusty old PDF I’ve been hoarding all these years.
Turns out, there’s science behind it.
Your brain’s ability to think is tied to your body’s ability to move.
Humans developed big brains, in part, because we walk on two legs instead of four. It demands much more complex co-ordination (it’s like a workout for your brain).
Here’s how it works:
Movement and thought share overlapping parts of the brain. Frontal lobes, cerebellum, basal ganglia… they’re not separate.
When you move…
All these areas related to thinking and problem solving start to light up and they get flooded with activity.
And as a result…
It’s practically impossible to NOT come up with good ideas while you’re moving your body.
So the next time you’re staring at a blinking cursor, stuck in your head, feeling like you’ve got a pile of good ideas that just won’t come out.
Close your laptop and go for a walk.
Seriously…
One of the simplest, oldest, science-backed ways to “unstuck” your mind is to move your body.
So that’s my big writing hack for you today.
Nothing new.
Nothing fancy.
Just something I’m willing to bet money will work for you.
And in the meantime, if you want my help writing emails that sell, just hop, skip, and jump on over to the application link below:
Your pal,
Kevin Hood