self improvement

How To Write An Article With Zero Inspiration (And Do It Quick)

/ Stuart Danker / 35 Comments
No Inspiration Journal - Sticker Mule

Photo: Sticker Mule

So you have writer’s block, or you could be behind on your blog-posting schedule. Your creative well might’ve run dry, or you’re just not looking forward to writing yet another article about the property market.

Well fret not then, because you’ve come to the right place. I’ve spent most of my life writing articles I didn’t care much about, with tight deadlines to boot.

Doing that taught me a very valuable lesson, and that is you don’t need inspiration to actually do the work. Also, writer’s block doesn’t really exist.

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Why You Need To Be Responsible For Your Own Feelings

/ Stuart Danker / 43 Comments
Responsible Woman - Joseph Frank

Photo: Joseph Frank

Do you ever look in the mirror and think you could stand to lose a few pounds? Or do you feel like a lazy sack of lard when you wake up a couple of minutes before lunch?

We all have shortcomings that trigger our negative feelings, and these moments of pain can be useful tools for improvement, yet the world’s managed to frame it as an enemy, as something to be avoided.

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Today’s Bad Days Will Be Tomorrow’s Nostalgia

/ Stuart Danker / 39 Comments
Nostalgia Photos - Sarandy Westfall

Photo: Sarandy Westfall

I’m going to join in on the pandemic whine-fest and say that it’s been a dull few months. My government can’t decide on its lockdown regulations, freelance opportunities are dwindling, and I just tore my abdominal wall.

So it’s a no-brainer that I choose to see how much my present days sucks and to reminisce on how much better everything used to be. If one thing’s for certain, it’s that I’ve been taking one too many strolls down Memory Lane.

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Why You Should Be Grateful For Pain And See It As A Blessing

/ Stuart Danker / 36 Comments
Pain Figure - Hailey Kean

Photo: Hailey Kean

There’s this saying that life only gives you what you can handle, and I’m compelled to think that that’s the case. After all, haven’t we all moved on from what we thought was the worst pain in our lives?

Now, I’m particularly lucky that my experiences of pain have been somewhat mild, comparatively speaking. After all, I didn’t have to live through wars or famine.

Heed this advice though: if you’re going through tough times in life, never compare yourself with others to decide if you should or should not suffer. If you’re feeling pain—both physically or mentally—then there’s probably a reason why.

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Where Do Ideas Come From And How Do You Tap Into Them?

/ Stuart Danker / 41 Comments
Man staring at a bunch of post-it notes

Photo: Per Loov

Where do your writing ideas come from?

Neil Gaiman says that he simply makes them up, and it’s the easiest part of the creative process. Alfred Hitchcock, on the other hand, reckons that ideas come from everything.

I myself am beginning to think that our entire being is made up of ideas (more on that in a bit), and tapping into that resource is simply a matter of changing our perspective.

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