WRITING

Write Like No One is Watching

Let’s all forget about curators and stats for a moment

Photo by Darius Bashar on Unsplash

You no doubt have heard Mark Twain’s famous quote:

“Dance like no one is watching”

Unfortunately, this profound quote has been excessively overused and reduced to one of those inspirational quotes that make a good hand-lettered wall tattoo. You know, the ones you can buy on Etsy and then feel all artsy and unique about it once it is on your living room wall.

Let us take a moment to appreciate what Mr. Twain wanted to convey here. His quote is quite “meta” in that it can be applied to virtually anything we do or wish to accomplish in our lives.

Once we are sure that no one is watching we are free from judgment, criticism, or fear of what others might think of us. And for most of us, our true potential will only unfold if we are absolutely sure of this.

We feel liberated to tap into our unused, raw potential and create truly great art. We will begin doing these things for ourselves, and not for others. We will not bend to anyone’s rules or compromise our principles to please others.

And is the same not true for writing?