Sunday, November 13, 2011

Pissing Your Life Away On People Who Are Wrong

We will never run out of people who are wrong on the internet. Never.

And if you find yourself spending too much time debating (or worse, correcting) other peoples' views and statements on Facebook, Twitter or elsewhere, the solution has to begin with you.

You are wrong.

You are wrong to allow yourself to get angry or distracted about political or social issues--even issues you feel incredibly strongly about. Why? Because your anger distracts you from your own creative pursuits.

You are wrong to engage in pointless one-on-one discussions when you can apply that time to writing something that could impact hundreds, thousands--or even millions--of readers.

Unless these conversations specifically further your personal creative pursuits, they are nothing more than pointless writing exercises. They don't hone your craft, they distract you from your dreams.

Trust me, I'd give nearly anything to have back all the hours I've wasted repeatedly relearning this lesson.

Train yourself to avoid arguments and debates. Tune them out. Save your mental energy and channel it into more meaningful activities. Don't allow yourself to be distracted.