It's All A Mirror

Over the course of a normal month, I experience many moons of emotions (hell, often it’s over the course of one day) and as a result, different variations of myself take center stage. If this sounds like a wild ride, believe me, it is, but I know I’m not alone with these fluctuations. Seldom are us complicated humans even-keeled all of the time and what a bore it would be if we were.

I’ve considered the emotional waves to be the result of cyclical depression, phases of anxiety or an overarching, inevitable quality of my Cancer sun sign. Realistically, a culmination of all aforementioned is true.

When I was younger and first discovering all of my intricate inner-workings, I would experience emotionally led states in different ways that all felt mildly unintentional or uncontrollable. Because of feeling internally chaotic, I would allow my behaviors to follow suit. I would antagonize people around me, strive for rebellious independence, and often turn inward to wallow in my own self pity as a result of trying to ride the tidal waves inside. I was in my own world and ultimately unsure of who was steering the boat.

My actions during these changing phases would mirror my internal state. If I was feeling stressed or emotionally charged, I would find ways to soothe those experiences without considering the consequences. In those moments, I didn’t think about aligning my behaviors with who I wanted to be and the problem was, the habitual self-soothing mechanisms that I chose would often enhance my already unpleasant state. I would isolate myself, over-eat, party, spend money on material things, pick fights with the people I loved all out of discomfort with myself… trying anything to ignore my shifting moods.

As a reflective adult, I know my younger self was behaving out of character while waiting and wanting to feel “back to normal.” I often used my emotional states as justification of my behaviors; I just wasn’t aware of it at the time. As I continued to connect with myself, I began to practice stepping outside of my current state to observe things from a larger picture. From there, I learned that my emotions were directly correlated to my behaviors and understood how I felt to be largely impacted by how I responded. I realized that I could get myself back to solid ground by choosing how to respond. I also realized some of my emotions didn’t warrant a response at all.

I began to see reality as malleable.

We all have ideal versions of ourselves. We also have our actual selves. During a shadow-work exercise the other morning, I practiced differentiating between the two. I started by writing two lists. On the first list, I wrote down qualities of my ideal self and behaviors that would lead to those qualities. On the second list, I wrote down qualities of my actual self and my current behaviors making those qualities true. Furthermore, I wrote down a few examples of what my life would look like after behaving as my ideal self, compared to what my life looks like now.

Then, I compared the two lists, all of their contents and harvested a bit of honesty with myself about the gaps.

This exercise can lead to a few things; deeper self awareness, reconnecting to yourself after periods of inevitable life distraction or change, or a swift kick in the ass that says, “you’re not doing what you should be doing and you know it.”

The truth is, what we think leads to what we do and what we do turns into our life. How we respond is everything. What we do with our current situation, is everything.

For me and my (still) emotionally charged self, this means acting in ways that align with how I want to feel instead of mirroring how I might currently feel. By doing this, I give myself the opportunity to reach my potential instead of letting go of the reins. I give myself the opportunity to create my ideal life. I choose my reality.

We’re never too old to reconnect with ourselves and what we want. As we learn, experience and grow - our ideal self evolves. Who we want to be, what we value and how we want to live is an ever flowing body of water as we are creatures on a continuous journey. Keep in mind, we don’t all of a sudden, arrive at this version of ourselves but staying connected to it is the best way we can behave in ways that make us feel internally fulfilled. Staying connected to our ideal selves is the best way we can understand our authentic purpose and use each day to design our wildest visions into sustainable ways of living.

Today, think of your ideal self.

How do they feel?

How do they spend their time?

How do they take care of themselves?

How do they think about themselves, about others?

What does their life look like, as a result?

Now, go and do some of the things on this list.

Create your own reality. Design your own life.

When the day is done, you’ll be happy you did.

All for now, friends.

Cheers,

-K

Routines Over Habits

Think about a set of behaviors you do every day.

Are you conscious during the behavior/s?

Are you present, in the moment?

Are the behaviors intentional and performed for a specific outcome?

If the answer is yes, the behaviors are likely routines. If the answer is no, the behaviors are likely habits.

Here’s why I love keeping routines:

Routines are systems designed by the doer to achieve an intentional and targeted result. Establishing a routine takes conscious effort but takes less energy to maintain after time. These systems allow long term goals to be achieved by small, daily actions that contribute to BIG changes over time. Routines strengthen discipline, persistence, patience and focus. They require strategy, planning and thinking from a wide perspective. Routines result in growth.

Here’s why I love breaking habits:

Habits are ingrained in our lives by mere repetition. Not all habits are bad and need to be broken, but almost all habits are mindless.

Mindless behavior quickly morphs into life spent on autopilot. When we live in this state, we are everywhere else but in the moment. On autopilot, we are not learning.

Have you ever driven to a destination, only to gain consciousness once you have already arrived? This is because you have traveled the same route so often, it requires little to no attention. The body merely completes the sequence of actions. The problem with this, is the lack of focus it requires and therefore the lack of stimulation our brain experiences. Suppose you move to a new city. You find a route to work and drive it, day after day. Eventually, you could get to work with your eyes closed… but what else is around you? What are you missing that exists off course? What beauty lies on the back roads untraveled? You’ll never know taking the same route.

The more habits we have the more we are living on autopilot. The more we live on autopilot, the more we sleep through our lives. Habits, when left to rule our days leave us robotic and experiencing the same thing from the same lens… day after day, like watching an old black and white movie on repeat.

With this being said, TODAY, my ask of you is this; become radically aware of each of your behaviors over the next 24 hours. Be fully present. Observe yourself going about the world and tune in to how often you live on autopilot. Identify what the intention is for each of your actions because so many are asleep and it’s time to wake yourself up.

Today, I will have the courage to move against the grain.

Today, I will act with intention.

Today, I will let go of the behaviors that no longer serve me.

Thank you for being here,

K

Copy vs. Content

We are all mildly familiar with Copywriting and Content Writing but do we truly know the differences between the two?

Writers: Do you specialize in one or the other? Are you more interested or talented in one or the other?

Business Owners: Do you know which kind of writer you need to hire for your goals and needs?

Although working together quite harmoniously, the role of the Copywriter and Content Writer are not synonymous and exist with cohesive, yet contrasting motives with the greatest difference regarding the purpose of the writing.

Copywriting is the art of writing to market a company with the ultimate intention of driving conversion and/or selling a product, service or idea. The product of this style of writing is called copy, explaining the name. Copywriting lives in emails, brochures, article descriptions, product/promotional pitches, social media and advertising. It is one directional text that presents an offer to the reader and results in a call to action.

Content writing, is the art of writing specialized content with the intent to inform, educate or entertain. Content writing increases engagement with the audience, drives traffic, builds trust and conveys brand messages through longer bodies of text. This style of writing feels conversational and is multi-directional. It showcases value from a brand. Content writing is found throughout blog posts, website or print articles, novels, memoirs, scripts, e-books and film.

Both styles of writing feed off each other, as an engaged audience is more likely to buy what the company has to offer. The two roles should flow as one with synchronicity, allowing the consumer journey to be experienced seamlessly while providing clarity of a brand’s mission. If multiple individuals are working on copy and content separately, a partnership rich with both communication and collaboration will ensure there is a maintenance of flow while avoiding conflicting messages within the brand.


Advice for New Writers:

  • Research each style of writing and the requirements/skills of each. We have all started at one point with merely a burning desire to write. That’s not enough! Get in there and get specific in order to become a master of your craft.

  • Dig even deeper and develop a niche market you will write for. While there are jobs with lose requirements that cover vast topics, the more specific you are… the more you can perfect what you bring to the table. Will you write about finance, personal development, real estate, healthcare, beauty, lifestyle? Narrow this down.

  • Dive headfirst into seminars, online-courses, books and every bit of learning material you can get your hands on! There is plenty.

  • Market YOURSELF through portfolios, LinkedIn groups, an Up Work account and an online presence. As you acquire clients, ask for testimonials to boost credibility.

Advice for New Business Owners:

  • Understand the different metrics that each type of writing will impact and make sure your writer does too!

  • Look for a writer with a web presence and experience that aligns with your niche. A promising copy/content writer will ask questions, hold interviews and spark conversations to understand the brand’s voice in order to write from it.

  • Don’t fear the price tag; a talented copywriter or content writer is not simply a writer, but one with training and a track record of writing to generate a certain response. You are hiring the writer with ROI in mind. Quality in this category of work will cost you, but when done correctly, will be a profound investment.


In Sum:

Copywriting:

  • Drives sales

  • Motivates the reader to take action

  • Persuades

Content Writing:

  • Drives engagement

  • Builds loyalty through storytelling

  • Informs, educates and entertains

I hope this was helpful! Wishing you positive, prosperous partnerships.

- K. Hoffman