Paying My Rent, One Poem At A Time

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Paying My Rent, One Poem At A Time

Tips for Making Money Creating Art

Big news, I’m now earning enough from my online work to pay the rent. That’s right, my poems are paying the bills baby!

Breaking this milestone came as somewhat of a surprise. Given that I have multiple sources of income, it took until tax time for me to do the math, and realise that I had, after five years, in-fact ‘made it’.

True, I’m not living off my work, I’m not uber wealthy or well known, but the fact remains, the rent is paid, and next year is looking even better…

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Am I Neurodivergent?

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Am I Neurodivergent?

I recently posted a meme about neurodivergent people struggling with eye contact, as well as a second post about how a diagnosis is akin to learning that you’re playing the game on hard mode; it doesn’t reduce the difficulty, but it lets you strategize.

This prompted a few of my followers to ask about my diagnosis: Am I neurodivergent? So, I figured I would clarify here.

The short answer is ‘no, but…’

Basically, I have a collection of symptoms that present primarily as anxiety derived from complex post-traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD)…

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Big Decision? Why You Should Always Sleep On It Before Acting

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Big Decision? Why You Should Always Sleep On It Before Acting

Typically the advice to ‘Sleep On It’ it is given when somebody is working themselves up over a decision. The suggestion is offered in the hopes that it will cause the person to take a breath, detach from the situation and approach finalising the decision from a calmer place.

I wish that I had seen the light on this one long ago. It would have saved me countless days of emotional suffering. A review of my past decision making process has taught me that I need to take a step back, calm down and detach prior to taking action.

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Using Mindfulness To Manage Toxic Thoughts

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Using Mindfulness To Manage Toxic Thoughts

Some days, meditation can seem like a chore. It can feel like you are totally out of focus for the entire session. That your mind is wandering out of control, and it is all you can do to stop yourself from getting off the mat and ending the session early. Perhaps you are plagued by embarrassing memories, find yourself bombarded by strong emotions, or are simply falling asleep. Whatever the reason, that meditation session just sucked. Please do not stress, this happens to everyone. It is not a sign of regression, or that you are meditating incorrectly. The truth is that you can only have the meditation you are having. Whatever happens, happens and that is okay.

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Man Up and Cry Already!

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Man Up and Cry Already!

Part of me still cringes at posts like this. It goes against so much cultural stigma and childhood conditioning, ‘Stop crying and harden the f*ck up already son’.

The thing is, I have known far too many people who have ended their own lives, self-harmed or turned to drugs.

I’ve suffered in this way myself.

Yet, despite knowing how healing it is to talk and let go of pent-up emotions, particularly rage, embarrassment, confusion and self-worth issues, it is hard for me to do so.

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You're Still An Artist Even If You Haven't Been Picked By A Gate Keeper

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You're Still An Artist Even If You Haven't Been Picked By A Gate Keeper

The good news is that you can bypass those gate keepers. It takes hard work and some divergent thinking, but it’s possible.

I’m doing it with my writing.

I don’t want a traditional publisher for a few reasons (creative licence, topic choices and style). Beyond that, I get nervous at the prospect of the rejection cycle and working with others with my creative work.

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Despite What Your Brain Tells You, There Is Always A Solution To Your Problem

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Despite What Your Brain Tells You, There Is Always A Solution To Your Problem

If I am in a bad place mentally, any problem, challenge or complication has the potential to derail me completely.

I become overwhelmed with the onslaught coming from my mental afflictions combined with the stress of completing the new task. My self-talk becomes negative, directed at my inability to handle the problem, and then at me as a whole for once again ‘losing it’ over something so insignificant.

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In The End, It Doesn’t Even Matter

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In The End, It Doesn’t Even Matter

“Hey Siri, play Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park.”

I loved that album. Perfectly mixing the clash of drums, distorted guitars, and iconic new metal disc scratching, all overlayed with a vocal combination of rap, rock, and a touch of screamo. But the lyrics, they were something else entirely. It felt like they were pulled straight from my mind. Perfectly expressing the confusing feelings of rage, fear, dissociation, suicidal ideation and anger I felt. Anger I directed at myself and the anger I directed at the world.

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Master Your Mental State By Reframing Negative Self Talk

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Master Your Mental State By Reframing Negative Self Talk

Thoughts of worthlessness, poor self-image, lack of belief in your own abilities, failure, and social out-casting, can run rampant in the mind and detrimentally impact your ability to function.

I know from first-hand experience the negativity cycle that these thoughts can put you into. When I am suffering from anxiety or depression, these thoughts can become particularly powerful.

They play on a loop in my mind, getting ever louder. The more they play, the more that I am negatively impacted. My functionality drops as I am less and less able to do the things I usually do. These losses ‘prove’ that the voices in my head are right.

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What If You Loved Your Work?

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What If You Loved Your Work?

Imagine waking up on a Monday morning excited to be going to work? Or lamenting the fact that it is Friday and you won’t be working for the next few days? If you loved your work, this would be a reality.

This isn’t to say that your dream has to be financial of course, but considering how much time we all spend working, it would be ideal if our work was somewhat in line with our passion as opposed to the drudgery that many people complain of.

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Destroy Anxious Thoughts With Specificity

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Destroy Anxious Thoughts With Specificity

For all the hassle that anxiety causes us, it is actually an evolutionary must have. Of all of our potential ancestors, only the anxious survived. The ones who were concerned for their future enough to stockpile supplies for the winter, lived. The ones who took an extra wide berth to avoid that snake looking stick over there, lived. The ones who were concerned about the social cohesion of their tribe, lived.

To this day, anxiety stops us from making fools of ourselves by proposing the question, ‘what if it goes wrong?’

Working correctly, anxiety is the little voice on our shoulder that keeps us safe from harm. It is our imagination harnessed for the purposes of self-preservation.

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I Just Completed 75 HARD & The Results Are Unimpressive

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I Just Completed 75 HARD & The Results Are Unimpressive

What do you think would happen if you cut out all sugar, fast food, and alcohol from your diet for 75 days straight? What if you also exercised for 90 minutes each day and drank 3+ litres of water?

You’d become a shredded god, lose a bunch of weight, and get super fit and strong… right?

Wrong.

You would probably just look slightly more toned and lose a little bit of your love handles – at least that’s what happened to me…

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I Don’t Know Who I Am - A piece of writing therapy

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I Don’t Know Who I Am - A piece of writing therapy

I don’t know who I am.

Sure, I can list superficial markers of identification, but these feel more like generic labels as opposed to true representations of ‘me’.

I am a father.
I am an author.
I am a husband.
I train martial arts.
I prefer quiet recreation.

I could go on an on with these descriptors, but their sum still wouldn’t come close to encompassing who or what I am. Beyond that, I simply do not connect to them. That list would describe a person, but not me. I don’t think it could ever describe me. I am not sure that there is a ‘me’ to be described…

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What Anxiety Really Feels Like: Unable to move on. Unable to work. Unable to relax. Unable to let it go.

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What Anxiety Really Feels Like: Unable to move on. Unable to work. Unable to relax. Unable to let it go.

I just woke up and the anxiety was upon me. It only took nine minutes.

Nine minutes before I began to dwell on an upcoming social obligation. Oscillating between deciding to go and hating it, or decided to bail and letting everyone down.

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If You Want To Be A Good Writer DON’T Do NaNoWriMo

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If You Want To Be A Good Writer DON’T Do NaNoWriMo

Or do it & stop taking writing advice from mediocre bloggers like me …

As NaNoWriMo approaches unsuccessful writers all over the blogger sphere will be attempting to cash in on your dreams.

They know it’s hard to write a novel, so hard in-fact that they have given up trying. Instead they are here to you offer you advice on how to complete their lost dreams…

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Instagram Is A Massive Prude & It's Disrupting The Sexual Health Of Society

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Instagram Is A Massive Prude & It's Disrupting The Sexual Health Of Society

I want to make it clear that I am 100% supportive of the intent behind these guidelines: Consent is king. Safety is paramount. Minors must be protected.

My problem is with the execution and judgement of what is considered acceptable and what isn’t. Put simply, questionable posts are flagged and removed by algorithms/AI whose decision can then be appealed and supposedly reviewed by a real person…

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Why A Blank Page Is The Perfect Therapist

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Why A Blank Page Is The Perfect Therapist

I am not in a good way right now. My social anxiety is through the roof, I am struggling to look people in the eye, and I am having panic attacks while shopping. I find myself staring at a blank wall, for minutes on end, attempting to decompress from even the most mundane interactions or setbacks.

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What Friendship Looks Like When You Have A Mental Illness

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What Friendship Looks Like When You Have A Mental Illness

What does friendship as an adult look like, or more specifically, what does friendship as an adult look like when you have a mental illness?

Answer: not like the movies, not like you learnt in high-school, and it isn’t easy for either party.

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The Impact of Neglect on Every Aspect of my Life

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The Impact of Neglect on Every Aspect of my Life

It is amazing how much I don’t know about basic human functioning. Sure, I taught myself how to survive, but every time something new comes up, I freak out and break down. I have no basis upon which to draw from, just a gaping hole where a loving and caring childhood should have been….

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