January 23, 2019 All, Writing in English
My Journey from Keeping a Diary to Blogging for my Niche Community
My love for writing started early, when I was 11 years or so. To me that was a creative outlet to express my emotions. Being an introvert, a shy person, I had an inner world of my own that was precious to me. All my emotions were penned down in my diary giving it an avenue to let it flow through me without having any negative impact on my being. This way I didn’t have to deal with all the unnecessary emotional dramas & turbulences that we all go through during our adolescent years. I just started to pen down my thoughts without any intend to give it a structure or form. It was a very free flowing style. The more I felt an emotion, the better my thoughts were and so was my writing. My father encouraged me to compose poems, and so I tried. My first poem was meaningless! No rhyme, no feelings, no story, just a verse. This somehow triggered the creative side in me and I started composing poems. I just let the words flow through me. And with every passing day, I noticed changes in me, in my writing. I became better every day. And I never stopped writing. A huge part of my childhood world included me and my writing. I started finding joy and happiness in doing this simple act, and it helped me to be focused and calm. This is probably one of the reasons I was more mature than my peers. My mind kept thinking & kept looking for cues to jot down my thoughts. Any emotion that sprouted inside of me got access to my creative side. In this way I also turned a lot of my negative emotions into positive reflections. I slowly became a diarist without realizing it. This turned into my hobby and my friend in loneliness!
I was encouraged by my family and friends to publish my work because they knew that I write straight from my heart. But I never had the courage to put my work in front of the world. I feared being known by others. I feared being vulnerable. True vulnerability is courage, and I lacked that. I kept giving excuses after excuses. Till one fine day out of the blue I decided to lean against this fear. My first poem got published in the local newspaper and it gave me so much confidence. I was thrilled! It was my victory against my own fears of being accepted and acknowledged. As I matured, my thought process got refined and my writings shaped up. I never stopped writing. Whether I published it or not was a different question though. When I was pursuing my MBA, I was made the Editor of our department’s Wall Magazine. This role gave me an opportunity to challenge my creative side. I got in touch with like-minded writers who contributed to the magazine, and I gained insight from their writing styles. This helped me improve as a writer. My love for writing always grew. Slowly it developed into my passion.
There is immense potential inside all of us. Somewhere deep down we know this, but find it hard to believe because we listen to our mind more than our heart. The heart is the gentle proclivity of the mind, and the mind is the confused proclivity. When our mind really seeks an answer, our heart gives us the true answer. I have always believed in this and always listened to my heart as a professional, as a writer and as a coach too. There is nothing more exciting than discovering the “don’t know” mind. When you are open to possibilities beyond what you think you know, you transition into your zone of genius. The zone of genius is that zone where you find deep joy, fulfilment and abundance in what you do. Often we struggle with what we believe about ourselves and we hold ourselves back. I too held myself back from playing high, dreaming high. As a writer my fears were about rejection and validation from the community that I intended to serve. As I transitioned from being an HR professional to a
professional coach, and as I did some deep work for myself with my coach to uncover the truth that lay inside me and become aware of my blind spots, I realized that I was stopping myself from going out into the world, and was not letting myself and others grow in the process. I then decided to start my blog and started jotting down my views about a subject that was close to my heart and something that I had a deep attachment to. I challenged my fear of not getting likes or appreciation for my writing. I overcame the writer’s dilemma of being appreciated and just focused on writing the way I used to as a child. My first blog got minimal likes, but that didn’t deter me. I kept writing. I celebrated my writings and competed with myself to write better every time. Sometimes I run out of ideas, which is when I know I need to take a break. As I committed to my intent of writing for passion, I realized my niche community had been created. People started liking my posts and articles, and approached me. My articles got published in one of the top HR Magazines in India and in the Internal Coach Federation (Delhi/NCR) Magazine. I got invites to contribute in magazines here and there. All this feels good, and my passion for writing became stronger. Today, I intend to write my own book, and I am committed to that project.
Doing what you love helps you be calmer and happier in the long run. Writing to me is a gift that can be nurtured. The more you practice, the better you get at it. The more vulnerable and authentic you are in your writing, the more you’ll be able to connect with your audience. As a writer, focusing on your being and development as a person is very important, because your creativity evolves as you grow and become your better version. Every writer looked back on their first piece of writing like a critic, and because they didn’t give up, made them best-sellers. To me creativity is realizing one’s essence and a long journey of unfolding yourself. Enjoying the journey is the key that will ensure that you reach your own destination.
Love & light,
Priyanka
Priyanka Dutta is an ACC from ICF and an ex-HR professional with a decade of experience in generalist HR roles. She is based out of Gurugram, India. She transitioned into being a Transition & High Performance Coach by choice. She helps her clients see and embrace the beauty within and explore their strengths & blind spots, thereby enabling them to transition into their zone of genius. She challenges them and coaches them to be high-performers. She coaches creative individuals, executives, transitioning professionals, HR professionals, inspiring individuals committed to their growth & development & willingness to change for the better. She works independently. However, she is currently employed with RiseSmart (a Randstad Co.) as a Transition Coach. For more detail, visit her website: www.priyankadutta.com and her blog: https://www.priyankadutta.com/blog.
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