Are You Genetically Cut Out to Be a Writer?
Are You Genetically Cut Out to Be a Writer?
Genetics plays a bigger role in your writing career than you think.
When I challenged myself to write an article every single day for a year, I worried way too much about writing.
I wanted my articles to read like Othello so much that I’d spend hours writing jaw-dropping prose. In fact, my very first online article took me about three hours to write. But after that three-hour article, the second one took me about an hour. How?
It wasn’t really because of practice since it was the second one. The more accurate answer that most people don’t want to think about is this — natural ability.
A lot of people just aren’t cut out for this.
I was reading a chapter of Atomic Habits by James Clear today and it taught me an interesting lesson: The easiest way to stick with a habit is to work in a field that you’re good at. Genetics plays a big role in this.
If you’re an introvert or extrovert, that isn’t by choice. It’s literally because of how receptive your brain is to dopamine. Introverts don’t get that same buzz that extroverts do, so we don’t seek as much external stimulation.
Michael Phelps is an amazing swimmer and that’s not an easy feat to accomplish, but his body structure — a long torso and smaller legs — plays a large role in his success. That’s the perfect body type that allows swimmers to propel themselves faster underwater.
Thousands of career paths are available to you. It’s hard to figure out what you should be doing in your life. That’s why most writers will fail in the first few months.
Embarking on my one-year daily writing journey showed me that I would've quit in month one if I didn’t have a natural ability for writing articles.
If it’s beyond difficult to write, it’s okay to quit.
I tried about three other business ventures before getting serious about writing.
I tried reselling items on eBay — Everyone online said it was easy and a quick way to make money. Not for me. I sucked at pricing items. That’s why I have a five-hundred-dollar pair of Nikes sitting in my basement that never sold.
I tried digital marketing — Facebook Ads are annoying. But I learned them like crazy because I wanted to “get rich quick.” I cold-called hundreds of companies in my local area only to get loud F-you’s and quick hang-ups. I did this for three months and quit.
I tried paid surveys — These are a bitch. Again, tons of people said it was easy to make a lot of money with these. In a desperate attempt to try anything, I made a whopping 2$ from a 2-hour survey I still never saw in my bank account.
*Note: When someone says it’s easy to make a ton of money by doing X, they mean it’s easy FOR THEM.
When I tried writing, something about it was just easier for me than anything else I’ve done.
The habit needs to be easy, first and foremost, for us to continue doing it.
A natural ability to write articles allows you to stay in the game longer.
I’d say success in the writing industry is about 80% consistency and 20% natural ability.
I’m not trying to draw a line in the sand and gatekeep who can be a writer and who can’t. All I’m saying is your natural writing ability before you even sit down to produce an article, often determines how long you’ll be here.
That’s why I firmly believe that the people who are meant to be here will be successful.
“But Khadejah, if writing isn’t for me, how do I find my path?”
It’s really just a matter of testing your love for something.
Make a list of all hobbies/activities that interest you
Try each hobby/activity for 90 days and if you get tired of it, cross it out and move on to the next one
The one you can do for 90 days and beyond is the path for you
Why 90 days? Well, it usually takes 90 days to implement a habit and it’s not too long or too short of a time frame to try something new. So when you realize this is your passion, you’ve already built up a habit to continue doing it.
Final Thought
Some career paths just aren’t in our DNA and I’ve accepted that.
For you to create a strong habit to be successful, your habit has to be easy. It won’t be easy if you don’t have a natural ability ingrained in your genetics. Either you have it or you don’t. So don’t sweat your career choice too much, okay?
You’ll know if it’s right for you.
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So true somethings just hit different. One thing that feels natural to me might not make any sense to someone else.
I do feel this way as well. And as you insinuated, it’s not an ego thing. Some people find writing easy, some find it to be a chore. I find it not only easy, but fun and therapeutic. I spend too much time on editing I think, as I have perfectionist tendencies. But I’m working on that lol