Had a breakthrough? Build on it.
How the good days help us keep going through the bad. Research from positive psychology, inspiring links & being editor's choice.
Hello writing friend,
I took a some time off last week. Nothing fancy, just a staycation here in Hebden Bridge. It was a chance to rest, read and write at home; to spend time on the things that restore me and often get squeezed out of the daily to-doing.
I didn’t get to write very much or even write every day, but I was amazed how well I could focus when I did find the time. I felt creative, productive and happy.
Build on happy
While there’s much to say on the topic of rest and creativity, it got me thinking how positive emotions can help us do the things we want to do - now and in the future.
Barbara L. Fredrickson is a psychologist best known for her ‘broaden and build’ theory of positive emotions.1 Her theory suggests that they play an important role in our psychological and social well-being by expanding our mental and physical resources.
She suggests that joy, interest, contentment, pride and love not only signal flourishing but also produce flourishing - in the present and over the long term as well.
Short term uptick
Writing during my staycation was frankly a joy. I didn’t feel guilty I was neglecting other things, I didn’t have to battle my schedule and set my alarm early to get to my desk.
For me, ‘finding the time to write’ (and then not finding much of it) can make me feel angry, frustrated and disappointed.
But last week, I arrived at my desk each day rested and relaxed and the process of writing was one of flow. Totting up my word count at the end of a session made me feel chuffed to bits.
After a lifetime of writing and working with writers write I don’t think I have ever experience such ease. So, what was going on?
An upward spiral
Fredrickson found that positive emotions ‘broaden the scopes of attention and cognition, enabling flexible and creative thinking’ - skills that are essential for writing.
The broaden and build theory suggests that this process creates an ‘upward spiral’ in which positive emotions lead to the development of greater psychological and social resources. In turn, these enhanced resources make individuals more resilient and better equipped to deal with life's challenges, leading to the experience of more positive emotions.
Long term, she suggests that these emotions fuel psychological resilience and our ability to bounce back from stress and trauma.
Keep building
Now I am back at work and the short-term affects of my staycation are fading fast, I am reassured that having experienced that breakthrough will help me manage the inevitable blocks that will surely come.
To broaden and build I need to keep going, through the good days and the bad. As we’ve said before, writing is not like following a recipe. The creative process is non-linear - zigzagging is what makes it so frustrating and so damn fulfilling.
Keep going, Bec
Editor’s Choice 🤩
We were thrilled to find ourselves in The Bookseller last week as Editor’s Choice for the paperback of Written. Check out the new cover design!
Side note: both Chris and I are philosophy graduates, so to be categorised as ‘philosophy and self-help’ is an additional bonus. The question remains, whether I can tick off writing a philosophy book from my life goals list…
Some links we love 😍
For more on breakthroughs, read Adam Alter’s Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to get unstuck and unlock your potential
And for blocks, check out Mason Currey’s Blocktober series on Substack
Oliver Burkeman Against the ideal routine, and other ideas
Over on Instagram Bernardine Evaristo posted about The Writer's Desk by Jill Krementz a collection of photos publishing in 1996, she writes: ‘Each writer is so different from the other: who they are, what they write, what they have to say about the writing process. It felt like a privilege to be 'let in', even more so today now that most of the authors in the book are no longer with us.’
Writerland explores Daily Word Counts…or Not with some great quotes from writers on whether they help and how they vary
Two great TED Ed videos on YouTube: Why is it so hard to break a bad habit? and How to enter a flow state
Want to RESET your writing this January?
If you’re embarking on a writing project in 2024, don’t go it alone!
Join us in January for our six-week writing RESET course and build a habit that lasts.
RESET is the perfect follow-up to Bec and Chris's book, "Written". If you have a writing project that perhaps feels unwieldy or overwhelming the course and book give very useful tools, and insights from current research, that are helpful, supportive and motivating.
Margaret O'Brien - author of Weather Report: a 90-day journal for reflection and well-being, with the aid of the Beaufort Wind Scale
What could a writing RESET do for you?
Lovely that you included my endorsement here Bec and Chris, your work is so helpful. Thank you!
I always appreciate how you link your insights with insights from others. Thank you for the reminder to see the value of joy!