Noa Ronen
When I was in third grade, I entered my short story, “My Brother, The Enemy,” in a school contest. I felt proud of my accomplishment. My characters were believable; my plot was compelling, and my illustrations were indelible.
I imagined the judge’s reaction upon reading my masterpiece:
“Beautifully written!”
“How talented this young writer is!”
“It’s unanimous. Award her first prize!”
Alas, my story didn’t even place in the top three. Although I felt discouraged, I believed in myself enough to know this was a small bump in the road. Losing didn’t mean I sucked. The judges didn’t see my brilliance.
I wonder what happened to that confidence. As an adult, I often feel that I am at war with self-doubt. And my writing is the biggest casualty.
Noa Ronen has experienced many bumps on her road to becoming an author. Fortunately for us, she has overcome her challenges and continues to inspire writers and entrepreneurs to do the same. Here my five big takeaways from our conversation.
- When you feel discouraged, find an opportunity for growth. Setbacks are gifts. They open doors to possibilities we’ve never noticed. Instead of fretting over a problem, focus on learning the lesson and find solutions.
- Write your first and rough drafts freely without judgment. Sometimes we feel blocked because we’re scared our writing won’t be perfect—freewrite your ideas without inhibition. Mentally vomit on the page, then clean it up later.
- When necessary, leave the premises. Take a break and walk away from your project when you feel frustrated or stressed. Let it rest for a day or two before you return.
- Allow your audience to guide you. Their feedback is priceless. Pay attention to their questions, praises, and complaints. Be open to possibilities and look for ways to solve their problems.
- Find the sweet spot between your being and doing energies. Noa describes Being energy as your emotions, thoughts, intuition, and Doing energy as your actions. There’s a balance between the two where you’re tuned into your feelings and take appropriate action.
How do you balance your Being and Doing energies?
