My reflections as a writer: Year 2024

What writing 140 texts in 1 year has taught me

🏷️ Categories: Literature, Personal stories.

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This project started in February 2024, so it's soon to be its anniversary.

Taking advantage of these special end-of-year dates, I wanted to reflect on how I am aligning my actions with my resolutions and think about the areas in which I can improve as a writer and person to serve you in the best way day after day. I want this annual reflection to become a tradition.

3 essential questions I'm going to answer today. You can use them to reflect on them yourself.

1. What values do I want to be defined by?

2. How do I live up to the values that define me?

3. What decisions do I make to get closer to my best self?

Let's get to it...

1. What values do I want to be defined by?

If I had to choose 3 essential ones, I would choose these.

1. Gratitude (To those who surround me, support me and push me).

2. Constancy (To take action and persevere through difficulties).

3. Curiosity (Aspiring to be better every day through learning).

2. How do I live up to the values that define me?

1. Gratitude

1. Return what has been lent to me: I think that attention is a loan, and like loans, it must be returned.
   
   When someone gives me their attention by reading one of my texts, I want to repay their gesture with gratitude. This is why I take as much time as necessary to respond to each of the comments and messages you leave. When answering, I like to think about who is on the other side, because the message is not just words, it is a person's doubts, problems and desires. I try to put myself in the shoes of the person on the other side and strive to give my best answer.
   
   I thank you for being there, always willing to read me.
   

2. Listening to learn: Listening is just as important.
   
   To be in silence, with an open mind and heart, without wanting to impose an opinion. Every conversation that arises in comments and messages is fruitful, there is no talk from which I do not note ideas. It is curious to see how such different people end up looking for answers to the same questions.
   
   In that diversity is the inspiration that with every talk you give me.
   

3. Giving before receiving: I believe so. Our potential grows as our willingness to help others grow. From the beginning, my intention has been to share practical and inspiring knowledge for those who read it. There may be paid content in the distant future, but I don't want that to compromise the content I've already been doing.

2. Consistency

I have proven to be reliable and have given clear expectations to those who read me.

In these 11 months as a writer, all kinds of experiences have come my way. Some have been extraordinary, others not so much... but I have learned to keep going, day after day. Mental Garden is still in its first steps, but I feel it has potential. Thanks to perseverance and this love for words, I have been able to bring you 135 free articles in these 11 months, having a virtual appointment with you every two days in the articles I write for you.

Being reliable is essential, it is difficult to trust someone if you never know what they are going to do.

Looking to the future, I would like to keep up this pace, and, in addition, create a space for monthly events where we can get to know each other better and share more than just written words. The future, as always, is uncertain, but I can't help but get excited at the thought of all that is to come.

3. Curiosity

Curiosity guides me.

I try to draw inspiration from everything I encounter, big or small. I am interested in reading diverse sources, and especially those that challenge my beliefs, because they lead me to question what I think I know. That's when I learn the most, because I discover my limits and new lines of research for future texts emerge. I like to combine seemingly unrelated ideas to create something new. From this process I get to write original content that reflects my personal evolution.

Each idea I capture sparks the spark to inspire future texts. The book recommendations and comments you leave me are crucial, as they decide the direction and make you leaders. From those readings I will draw ideas for future letters.

That is my diet as a writer and what I try to share.

What can I do to get closer to my best version?

1. Raise the standard of quality

You may have seen that I often rely on books and scientific research. I believe this is vital to be honest and reliable. However, even in the scientific field there are more and less rigorous studies. This is why I want to review in more detail the studies I use to ensure that the information I offer you is as accurate and up to date as possible. This takes time, but my hope is that I can do the hard work for you to find the needle in the haystack of information.

2. Improve the user experience

The design of the website is just as important as the content inside.

As you may have noticed, over the past few months there have been numerous improvements to the design and layout of the charts and the Substack itself. This has made reading and navigating the site more pleasant. I have worked many hours to achieve this and I hope to continue my efforts to make the reading experience even more pleasant in the future.

• Personalized text dividers.

• Text closing with a question and daily quote to inspire you.

• Mental Garden Library to search text by category.

• Fundamental categories of Mental Garden in the home header.

• Each text has at the top the categories to which it belongs to navigate.

• Images and drawings that I make myself to illustrate my letters.

As a reader, I value this kind of details and I think I am not the only one.

You too?

Final words

Rarely does one betray one's principles from one day to the next.

The problem arises when we convince ourselves to make “small” exceptions “just this once”. That drags us into behaving in ways we would otherwise have rejected. That's why I'm writing this today, to serve as a public page in my diary, to help me avoid those detours and to encourage me to raise the quality of my work even higher day after day.

There is still a long way to go, but I believe that, if I manage to maintain what is already working and focus my energy on improving certain areas, I will be able to deliver you a better result, something worth the time you dedicate to read me day after day.

For now, thank you for being there, for being part of this small community that, despite the distance, already unites more than 4700 people from 70 countries. It is a privilege to walk together, even with words.

✍️ It's your turn: Since when do you read me and from which country do you do it?

💭 Quote of the day: “Maybe what you've written will help others, be a small part of the solution. You don't even have to know how or in what way, but if you're writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing your best to understand and communicate, it will shine on paper like its own little beacon.” Anne Lamott, Bird By Bird.

See you soon! Take care of yourself. 👋