SHOW NOTES

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“At the end of the day we are all writers.”

— allison fallon

On this episode, join Mary and Lindsley as they interview their dear friend and special guest, Best Selling Author, Speaker and Writing Coach: Allison Fallon.

Allison writes books, helps people write books and believes a regular practice of writing can change your life. She is the author of 12 books (and counting) sought-after public speaker and coach to hundreds of authors from New York Times Bestsellers to total beginners. She has spent the last decade coaching hundreds of people to gain confidence, overcome writer’s block and get their stories on paper. Even if you say, “I’m not a writer” she can show you how a daily practice of writing can improve your sleep, your focus, your creativity, your productivity, and even your relationships.

More than ever the tools that we each have and have access to to help us process through hard things are needed. They aren’t luxuries. They are necessities.

Writing is one of these essential tools that we all have access to to help us process the magnitude of what we are experiencing and feeling.

There are massive bodies of research around the not only mental, but physical benefits of writing. Studies have proven that people with a regular writing practice have strengthened immune systems, improved sleep, are happier in their romantic relationships, and heal quicker from physical wounds.

Even with knowing all of this many of us are still reluctant to write.

Maybe we had a bad experience in our education where we were shamed for our writing.

Maybe we worked hard on a paper only to receive a grade that didn’t reflect our effort.

Maybe we are afraid that our writing will be found and our deepest thoughts will be exposed.

Maybe we feel like writing is an elite thing and it isn’t for us.

But, we are all writers.

Living in this modern world there is no way to thrive without writing. Texts, emails, social media… we are all writing all the time.

We have the opportunity to leverage this skill for positive change in our lives.

When we are in a state of survival it can be hard even know where to start. When using writing as a tool for anxiety and fear there are a few things to keep in mind-

-Make sure you are writing from more than one angle. What you are experiencing in the moment is real and true but it’s only one part of the story.

-Choose a situation that feels charged and only write the facts of the situation. Only what is proveable. Only what is true. Remember that predictions about the future are not facts.

-Write your thoughts. “The story I am telling myself is…”. This will help you begin to leverage change as you recognize the difference in what you are making up about the situation and what the facts actually are.

-What your feelings are about the situation. They may not even make sense to you in the moment. But your feelings are there for a reason and they are telling you something.

We are experiencing things so quickly, we are going through thoughts and feelings at a rapid pace.

This allow us to create a pause and space to begin to process what is going on for us.

To separate facts from thoughts and feelings.

And to begin to close the loop on fear and anxiety.

3 Tips to Help You Begin to Cultivate a Regular Writing Practice

1) Make Physical Space- create a space in your home that feels safe and secure where you will feel safe to share your inner most thoughts freely.

2) Make Space in Your Calendar- It feels so simple but go to your calendar and give yourself marked out space for writing. It could be 5 minutes. It could be 20 minutes. It could be an hour. If you’re just beginning, start with a smaller amount of time and then as you get comfortable you can add more.

3) Make Mental Space- Just like in practicing yoga or meditation, when writing allow the mental space for thoughts to come up, and then release them, allowing your brain to focus on one thing at a time.