I'm a big basketball fan.

And believe it or not, it has a lot of parallels to writing.

Let me explain.

the late (and great) Kobe Bryant didn't just play basketball.

To him, it wasn't just a game.

It wasn't just a competition.

It was his identity.

He started playing when he was just 3 years old, and kept playing until for the next 33 years.

And when he reached the NBA, the work didn't stop.

It got harder.

Now he was competing with the best in the world.

For him to stand head and shoulders above all of them, he'd need to work twice as hard.

To us mere mortals, this may sound really difficult.

We don't like the idea of finding success and still working.

Most of us have been conditioned with this lazy mindset where we can work our arses off and then take it easy as soon as the bag is secured.

But Kobe wasn't like that.

And in reality, no successful people are like that.

To them, they have to keep going and pushing harder.

Not because they're competing against others or trying to prove themselves worthy.

But because it's their identity.

As I said earlier, Kobe started playing basketball when he was just 3 years old.

And as a professional, he was regarded as the hardest worker in the league.

Do you think he struggled to get out of bed at 3 in the morning and work out?

The answer is no.

All because his identity was wired too maximise his potential as a basketball player.

And believe it or not, this also applies to writing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you have to start waking up at 3AM or write 8 hours per day.

What I am saying is, your ability to write isn't solely determined by your writing skills.

Your identity, the way you view yourself, is much more of a needle-mover.

How do you develop your identity as a writer?

You publish consistently.

Just like Kobe trained consistently.

Two years ago, I was a guy who sometimes wrote.

Now, I'm a writer who sometimes does other things.

Do you see the difference?

It's subtle, but powerful.

When your identity shifts, you no longer have to battle willpower every time you sit at your desk.

You're not "forcing yourself to write" - you're simply expressing who you already are.

The actions follow the identity, not the other way around.

So, answer this question:

Are you still trying to "build a writing habit"?

Or are you becoming someone who simply writes because that's who you are?

If it's the first one, you're making this way harder than it needs to be.

If it's the latter, you're on your way to greatness.

Feed it the right identity, and the words will follow.

Talk soon,

Godfrey

PS. Check out Medium Mastery if you're serious about this writing stuff.