Writing a book can be a great way to ease stress and help to prevent burnout. The patience and persistence that it takes to sit down and consistently put words on a page can serve as a type of meditation. It can help you to let other worries drift away for at least the moments that you are writing and inspire you to focus on the bigger things that matter.
Stress can come from so many areas of your life, your job, your finances even your family. The stress may not be all negative but just pressure that slowly builds up over time. If you can learn to release that pressure consistently through a writing practice you can ease some of that tension that often goes undetected until it’s too late and cause some problems with your marriage, job, and self-esteem.
Writing has been a wonderful way for me to take a moment for myself and focus on the characters of the book I am creating, or the lessons I am trying to share with my readers. When I sit to write I am intently focused and that helps to calm me and give me clarity over the many things that are competing in my head.
There are three ways that writing a book can help you avoid stress and minimize burnout in your life.
Writing helps you to slow down and focus on the here and now.
On a daily basis, so many things are competing for our attention. Work, family, our relationships, and other things like social media and TV. These things, though they might be important and a good form of leisure, they often are not the soothing solace that you can get from writing. It’s very difficult to focus on anything else when you are writing a book. During the hour I allow myself to write my books I am intently focused on that task. For me, it’s like therapy, the calming effects of just being still and letting the words flow can feel as though I have just left a nourishing yoga session. Writing becomes a time in the day that slows down your busy schedule and helps you to focus on one singular thought at a time. This mindful practice will help you to ease some of the stress that builds up each day, sometimes without our awareness.
The consistent practice of writing builds a muscle of self-reflection.
Showing up on a regular basis to write is a gentle way to tell the rest of the world that you are putting other things on hold for a moment. That you are taking time for yourself to write what matters to you. A book takes your attention and when you write you give yourself space to reflect on what you are trying to communicate. This time of writing helps to quiet external noise while giving a voice to what’s really on your mind. Having the practice of writing is one that is more important than we think. Mary Rubin said, “One writes primarily to free oneself from oneself.”
Writing can bring about the transformation that desire.
You might be working at a job that doesn’t fulfill you completely, or perhaps you aren’t living up to the potential that you thought you once had. Writing a book is one of the top bucket list items for many people. Once you decide to write a book, accomplishing that goal can really help you to see where your next step in life might be. Life can be realized through writing if you see it as a way to transform. You might just be surprised by the work you do when you commit to writing a book. Everyone’s story is worth telling and you may just help yourself become a more relaxed and at ease person who is full of passion and zeal because you are writing about the topics that matter to you. Everyone should write a book, including you.