Mastering Your Mindset: 9 Effective Ways to Master Your Mindset as a Freelance Writer

Mastering your mindset as a freelance writer doesn’t have to be hard.

You’ve probably heard about people who changed their mindset and started making a gazillion dollars, right? Maybe you dismissed it as mumbo jumbo, but your mindset is powerful and subconsciously can keep you down and prevent you from reaching your goals.

Maybe you keep wondering why things never work out for you. Or, perhaps you feel burnt out from working too much.

Maybe you thought when you started freelance writing from home, this was just a side gig and not a “real business.” But as time goes on, you realize to be successful; you need to get your head in the game.

If you are a freelance writer, you probably already know that your mindset can make or break you. Mastering your mindset gives you true power and control over your life. 

After reading this post, you’ll learn five types of positive mindsets that successful freelance writers have. Then I’m giving you nine ways to ditch your old way of thinking to open doors to more opportunities and banish the negative thoughts preventing you from making more money. 

Does Mastering Your Mindset Really Matter to Freelance Writers?

I’m not going to say that people who have a poor mindset can’t be successful. But, having a healthy mindset as a freelance writer can enhance your quality of life.

As a freelancer, there are many different aspects of your business that you must always consider. For example, you are a writer, freelance business owner, employee, marketer, virtual assistant, accountant, and more.

On top of possibly having a relationship, family, or home, this can all be a bit overwhelming at times. All these life roles you play make it critical for you to have a healthy mindset.

So, let’s look at some positive mindsets that will ultimately help you master your way of thinking as a freelance writer.

5 Types of Positive Mindsets to Catapult your Success as a Freelance Writer

1. Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is exactly what it sounds like- focus on growing in your personal and work life. To have a growth mindset, you need to create goals.

These goals need to be in line with your business, clients, education, and even your personal life.

As a writer, your goals may vary. Here are a few examples:

• Gain one new client each week.
• Work on a personal writing project (article, book, blog post, etc.) for 7 hours each week.
• Focus on learning one new writing technique each month.

2. Grateful Mindset

It’s always easy to say that we are grateful, but how often do we actually focus on what we are thankful for?

To practice a grateful mindset, I recommend writing or saying out loud 5 things you are grateful for each day.

In terms of your freelance career, there are many different ideas to be grateful for. Here are some common things to be thankful for as a freelance writer regularly:

• The flexibility of a freelance job
• Current and potential clients
• The ability to read, write, and edit
• A job where you can use your creativity to make money

3. Abundance Mindset

As a freelance writer, you may think you have to take on everything that you get handed. But, you don’t.

So, it is also okay if you get told no after pitching your ideas to a potential client. It’s human nature to get upset after rejection but having an abundance mindset means you know the RIGHT opportunities will come your way. 

This way of thinking can save your mental health in both of these instances.

In your career, it’s important to understand that there is enough work for everyone. Meaning you can turn down work. That job will be the perfect writing gig for someone else.

In turn, people can turn you down. But don’t worry, new opportunities may present that you are a better fit for you.

This world is big enough for everyone, so don’t worry about the small things that don’t work in your favor. There will always be more than enough work to go around for everyone!

It is a shame that people compete instead of network and collaborate.

Related: Grammarly Premium Review: Write Better Blog Posts with Ease

4. Entrepreneur Mindset

When you started your freelance writing career, you definitely need to have an entrepreneurial mindset.

Since you are running your own writing business, you must focus on all aspects of our business – your business, clients, and your work. As an entrepreneur, you also want to stand out from your competitors. You need a unique selling proposition.

Here are a few ways to have an entrepreneur mindset:

• Solve your clients’ problem(s)
• Own your niche and writing style
• Only take on projects that you know you can do your best work on
• Redefine failure

5. Positive Mindset

Realistic optimists are much more successful and happier than pessimists (realistic is key here). I consider myself a true eternal optimist and generally see the good in even the worst situation. When I feel I’ve failed, I give myself a moment to feel sad or frustrated and then use it as motivation to succeed.

If one part of my business isn’t exactly perfect, I don’t freak out and think I’m doomed, never to run a successful business that makes tons of money. I find a way to fix the things that don’t work and keep trying.

And guess what? Positivity really does breed positivity. And soon it becomes a way of life That’s important because success doesn’t always bring happiness with it. But with a positive mindset, you draw success to you.

So, a positive mindset is one of the most important mindsets to have. This brings me to nine ways you can have a healthier mindset.

Mastering Your Mindset – 9 Ways to Have a Healthier Mindset as a Freelance Writer

When working on mastering your mindset for your freelance writing career, here are some tactics that can help.

1. Recognition

To change your mindset you first must recognize and acknowledge the thoughts that are holding you back that you want to change. Practice connecting with those thoughts and then focus on the mindset you want to reflect.

Many of these thoughts are automatic and like a habit, they can be difficult to break. It took you years to develop that mindset, so it takes time to break it.

You need to really be self-aware to identify self-limiting thoughts and beliefs but recognition is the first step to changing unhealthy mindsets.

2. Let Go of Your Past

Your past doesn’t define who you are, it’s merely a representation of where you’ve been. There’s not a single person in this world with a shiny perfect past. We all have things in our past that we aren’t proud of. 

So, there’s good news – the past is just that, the past. Dwelling in the past on things you can’t change doesn’t help. By focusing too much on the past, we prevent ourselves from get the most out of the present and future.

Take the lessons the past has taught you and apply them going forward and be thankful for the beauty in your life now because each moment could be your last so live like it is.

3. Meditate

Meditation has proven to be a great way to work on your mental health and mindset. I recommend starting your day off with morning meditation. It helps clear your mind, relieve stress, and prepare you for the day ahead.

You can do this by getting a meditation book, app, or even practicing guided meditations on YouTube.Meditation is a way to help center your mindset around the important aspects of your life and business.

 4. Journal

Another way to master your mindset is by journaling. Journaling is a healthy way to get out your emotions, happy moments, and frustrations.

It also allows you to practice writing in your own manner, without having to perfect it.

You don’t have to worry about turning your journal in to a client, so you can practice your creative writing without worrying about someone seeing it.

 

5. Reflect on Your Progress

When meditating and journaling, you will want to reflect on your progress.

As a freelance writer and blogger, I know I need to create goals to grow mentally. Journaling allows you to reflect on your progress as you grow.

But, the most important aspect of growth is seeing the little things as well.

Meaning, you don’t want to solely focus on your big goals. It is also important that you pay attention to your success in all the small ways you are growing and progressing as well.

6. Give Yourself a Break

You are allowed to give yourself breaks. This goes for actual physical breaks and even just being light with yourself. 

Sometimes, you may need to close your laptop or put down your pen, and just get away. It’s easy to get caught up in work when it’s in front of you all the time  so taking breaks allows you to do something else for a little while.

Even though this may be a very momentary act, giving yourself time to breathe away from your work is very important. Working without breaks is the fast lane to burn out and you want to avoid that. 

Another way to give yourself a chance to relax is by literally giving yourself some slack. No matter how great you are, there may be times when you feel like your freelance writing business is failing.

Maybe a client asked for a rewrite or you were rejected after a cold pitch. Rejection and stress can be overwhelming.

During these times, focus on what is going right in your business by having a gratitude mindset. I keep a file of “love notes” on my computer of nice things customers or blog readers have said. When I’m having a bad day, I refer to those notes.

7. Understand and Reframe Rejection

As we talked about having an abundance mindset, it is very important to understand- and be okay with rejection. Learning how to deal with rejection can be hard, but when you do, it makes you stronger.

When becoming a freelance writer, you may think you will fit everyone’s needs.But, some clients just won’t work for your business and you won’t work for theirs.

That is okay. Although I admit, sometimes it doesn’t feel okay at the time. Rejection does not determine your value, work, or business. How you handle rejection does.

8. Do Not Take Everything On

Although being a freelancer seems like an amazing business, it can be very overwhelming if you don’t set boundaries for yourself.

You do not have to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that gets thrown your way. Someone may approach you with a project that doesn’t pay well or isn’t your thing and maybe you need more business. Do you keep it or let it go?

But it’s okay to say no to projects. I‘ve had to say no even though it’s hard to pass up business. If it’s not your type of work, doesn’t pay well, or doesn’t jive, say no.

Now there may be times in the beginning where you need to pay the bills and sometimes that means you have to take what you can get. I’ve been there and it happens, but you don’t have to take everything that comes your way.

I recommend having a small (or big) network of other freelance writers that you can pass potential clients too. Remember, it’s all about collaborating and not competing. 

Whether you are just swamped with current work, taking a vacation, or just don’t align well with a potential client, having fellow freelance writers can come in handy. You can refer the project to someone else and build a great relationship with another writer.

9. Work Smarter, Not Harder

With all of the perks of becoming a freelance writer, you want to make sure you are working smarter not harder.

Since there is a lot of work that comes with owning your own business, you want to be able to maximize your time and energy the best ways you can.

The first way to work smarter and not harder is to begin implementing the previous six suggestions and focusing on having the above five mindsets.

Refine your processes, automate what you can, and avoid distractions so you can focus on your work. Also, work at your most productive time. I’m a night owl so getting up early does not work for me.

Here’s another productivity tip, batch your tasks. Batching is a way to group similar things together so you don’t break your train of thought and lose focus. For example, you could do keyword research for five articles, then create the outlines for them, and then write them. 

Check out more great productivity tasks in this article on how to maintain focus when working from home. It’s geared towards the holidays but applies to the rest of the year too. 

Final Thoughts on Mastering Your Mindset as a Freelance Writer 

Mastering your mindset as a freelance writer does not have to be hard. 

In fact, if you set aside a little bit of time each day to work on your mindset and check in with yourself, I guarantee that you will notice a huge difference in your business (and overall life) within a short matter of time.

Focus on your growth, entrepreneur, and grateful mindsets by journaling, reflecting, and mediating. 

Before you know it, you will have mastered your mindset for your freelance writing career and inviting money, success, and opportunities into your life.

FAQ:

Q: When I master my mindset, will I be successful?

Mastering your mindset as a freelance writer can definitely help you catapult your success. But, it will still take hard work, determination, and time to truly reach success. Be patient, learn what you don’t know, and work hard and success will find you.

Q: How do I know when I’m done mastering my mindset?

Theoretically, your mindset will always be a work in progress. You may hit some lows, but you will also have some great highs! With that being said, I recommend tracking your progress. Be sure to regularly check in with yourself in terms of mindset, what you’re focusing on, how you are using your time, and even if you need a break.

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