This year has taught me more than I could have asked for and no, I’m not being facetious.
It’s been a great year for me (more to come on that in the next blog) and I’ve grown a lot. I feel compelled to share everything with the world, but In an effort to be concise, this blog is about just one of the many lessons that I’ve learned.
How to put things on the hook.
Let me explain.
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When it comes to writing, and this blog in particular, I’ve been vulnerable, I’ve been open and I’ve been bold. However, through some recent reflection, I realize that I’ve been writing what other people want to hear rather than what I want to say. Sure, there’s some overlap there. I’m grateful for an audience that thinks like me (for the most part) and accepts who I am. However, I realize that in order to be completely authentic, I need to detach myself from what you think.
The process is always more important than the product.
For every blog that you see, there are ten that never make it to the internet. Most of my writing is done in private and to be honest, that writing (the private stuff) is some of my best. I’m most creative with writing (the process) when I’m not thinking about what you will think (outcome) of the words I write. I’ve come to understand that the process of writing itself where I discover the deepest thoughts and uncover the most profound prose. I’ve grown more through writing than I ever will though thinking. I’ve fallen in love with the process and I no longer care about the outcome (metrics).
“Becoming the observer (step back) you begin to live in process, trusting where your source is taking you. You begin to detach from the outcome. That detachment allows you to stop fighting and allows things to just come to you; you no longer make things happen but allow them to show up.“
Wayne W. Dyer
If you’re still with me at this point, you might be wondering what “on the hook means,” let me tell you.
In some countries, when you buy a loaf of bread at a bakery, it’s normal to buy two loaves so that the baker can “put one on the hook.” When someone comes in off the street (presumably someone down on their luck), they can ask if there’s “anything on the hook” and get a free meal. It’s a way to pay it forward and it’s happening all around the world, including this pizza place in Philadelphia. It’s a concept that can be extrapolated beyond food and to anything that we do.
When it comes to writing, I’m starting to realize the power of “putting it on the hook.”
I’m putting forth my best effort and leaving it out there to hang. If it’s for you, that’s great. If it’s not, no problem. It doesn’t matter to me either way because the outcome (you reading) doesn’t change the magic that happens in the process. That mindset shift allows me to be heavily invested in the process without being married to the outcome. It’s a winning combination. It’s a mindset that allows me to shift from external push to internal pull. It frees me from what I think people expect and it allows me to be authentic, creative and persistent in the pursuit of my best work and my best self.
That’s what putting it on the hook means and now that you understand, here’s me putting it on the hook.
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That’s what the hook is all about.
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So, with 2020 coming to a close, I want to encourage you what you can put on the hook next year. In other words, what is something that do you that is currently driven by the outcome and how could you care less about it. Start thinking about how you can value the process more and the outcome less. It feels counterintuitive, but I promise you, it works. Like always, I’m beyond appreciative for all of you who consistently take my bait and bite the hook. Here’s a quote to wrap up.
“Writing entails undertaking a spiritual journey, an exploration of the blemished self that is delightfully challenging, painfully arduous, and unfathomably rewarding. Writing allows an admittedly flawed person to artfully confront their inglorious personal history, examine the present, and cogitate upon the future. Thoughtful writing creates a person’s own precursors: it revises a person’s conception of the past into a more detailed, accurate, and comprehensive philosophical context, alters how a person perceives the “now,” and alters the course and outcome person’s future. Writing is the ultimate psychological experience and an immaculate method to examine a person’s thoughts, debunk a person’s delusion, and analyze a person’s values.”
Kilroy J. Oldster
Put it on the hook.
Joe Rinaldi
IG: @joearinaldi
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