Letters for Creatives #41: The daily routine of Maya Angelou
Plus: How to change the narrative in our mind
Hello, I am Celeste. Thank you for being here. If you would like to receive Letters for Creatives every Thursday, subscribe to read weekly letters on creativity, mental wellness, mindset and more. You can go to the directory to see the topics I have covered so far.
How to Bend Reality to Your Will and Become Unstoppable
We are a creature of habit. If we want to change something in our life, it often has to do with how we talk to ourselves in our minds. Failure in the past does not equal how it would span out in our future.
Some ways that Moran Cerf suggested to change our brain literally:
Evidence of past success. Change the narrative of success.
Surround yourself with people that you want to be like because our brains get influenced by conversations. Conversations with people and the videos you watch can literally change your brain. Stay aware of what you surround yourself with.
Be aware of which voice of the brain that you pay attention to. Are you paying attention to the voice that empowers you or makes you feel bad?
Any time people … can just own a mistake and see a better solution, that is somebody who is polishing a self-image in a way that is anti-fragile. The more they look at that failure, the harder they go in an even better direction.
— Tom Bilyeu
I Tried Maya Angelou's (fantastic) Daily Routine
Maya Angelou was well-known for her autobiographies. She also writes poetry, essays and was credited with movies, plays and TV shows. She became the spokesperson for Black people and women. Her daily routine helped her to write and publish a lot of books that have an impact on people.
5:30 - She woke up and prepared to work
7 - She arrived at a hotel room and started working until 12:30 pm if it was bad. She would stay until she felt like finishing on a great day. She edited during the writing session.
2 - She arrived home, read what she wrote that day and put it away.
3 - She started to unwind and prepared dinner.
10 - She went to sleep and it repeated for the following days.
Still I Rise — Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
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Until next time,
Celeste