How Writing Connects with Your Purpose 

“The books Amy helps you create aren’t cookie cutter. They cut to the soul.”

—Christa Polich, Author of Admitting Abuse

Ten years ago, I launched The Gratitude Connection. It wasn’t only my first book; it was also the story of me “coming back to life” and discovering my purpose. I didn’t have a near-death experience or even a dire illness. I had simply lost myself. 

Have you ever felt that way? I had experienced a difficult time I couldn’t seem to pull myself out of, and constant anxiety became my new normal. 

When I’m feeling down, I tend to withdraw, hunker down, and reserve my energy. If you’ve ever felt lost too, you were probably functioning like I was—just surviving is all you could do. I was going along, doing what I had to do, but not reaching out for love or comfort or support. 

I had limped along in a low-grade depression for months when I remembered reading about a practice of giving thanks for your blessings every day. I forced myself to try it, even though I thought I had very little to be grateful for. Guess what? I was wrong. Once I focused on the feeling of thanks, of gratitude, it was like I couldn’t turn it off. All the wonderful things I had been ignoring for months popped up in my head and heart: my amazing husband, beautiful home, loving friends and family, and even my loyal, adorable dog. 

Why I Wrote My First Book

After only a few days of practicing gratitude, life opened up for me. I felt connected to myself again, seeing possibilities I couldn’t fathom before. I started reaching out to other people to reboot the relationships I had neglected. Meditation felt important again, so I felt my spiritual connection revive too. Most of all, the sense of panic calmed down. I was even feeling little sparks of joy now and then. Imagine that!

It was such a relief that I thought it was a miracle. How can I feel so different, even though my circumstances haven’t changed? I thought. And then they did change. It was as if my internal energy changed my outward life. Opportunities came my way through people who didn’t even know I was struggling. 

As a writer, my reaction was to write about everything that was happening. And along the way, I tried other simple changes and practices to see what would happen. When they worked, I wrote about them too. I started connecting other people with these new tools and saw more miracles happen. 

Then, one day, it struck me—I’m writing a book! I wanted to cut through the noise of stress and anxiety to help more people feel connected the way I did. I couldn’t wait to get my book into the hands of people who needed it. 

Connection with Purpose

Connect! That’s what our books do when they’re written from the heart. They cut to the soul. They meet people where they are. Our readers are stuck in that place we used to be before we found the thing that changed everything. Our words help people plug back into who they are at their essence. Since we are all made of love, with a purpose to share that love in our own unique ways, our books are not only a “bucket list” item for us—they’re part of our purpose.

Let’s get real. The act of writing our books is also our own lifeline to expansion. It’s not like the writing just pours out of us in one big, joyous experience. Some bumps in the road usually appear, some big enough to make us question our own desires and motivations behind writing our stories. The doubts creep in as roadblocks, making us wonder why we’re doing this hard thing, why we’re exposing our vulnerable inner life to be examined and critiqued by strangers. 

That’s where our writing becomes our next-level teacher, connecting us with what’s deeper inside us. Can we really be that person who exposes her innermost self to help others see themselves more clearly?

Yes, of course, if we choose to make that kind of impact. Going through this dark night of the soul, searching for our conviction and strength is what makes our stories into catalysts for our own expansion and also a beacon of light for our readers. That connection with ourselves makes the gift we give to our readers that much more meaningful. 

So how do we reconnect to our souls, our purpose, ourselves, and others when we’ve lost our way?

Connect with Others’ Wisdom

Know that others have traveled this path before you. My team and I are all published authors, and we’ve helped so many passionate people on their own author journeys. The resources available to you are constantly growing as new books are published every day, along with gifted speakers and teachers sharing their knowledge on stages and video and podcasts. Find the people who resonate with you and what you’re seeking. 

Other ways to reconnect are by talking with your community of friends and family to understand how they navigate difficulties. 

Connect with Joy

What are your go-to activities that make you feel happy?

• Nature
• Meditation
• Art
• Writing – journaling for yourself or writing for others’ eyes
• Social interactions

Connect with Your Experiences and Share Them

Before I finished writing The Gratitude Connection, I talked to a lot of people about my experiments with gratitude and other positive practices. This helped me understand it better and see how changing my perspective (mindset) manifested more positive experiences. Then I could write about them more clearly as a way to help others find their own paths. 

What are the stories and book ideas you’ve been carrying around for years? (I would love to hear about them!)

Help Others Reconnect to Their Joy

Sometimes, the chaos in the world can make us feel so stressed out that it causes people to disconnect and withdraw. So hearing other peoples’ experiences in a similar situation can really feel like a lifeline, as though the stress and feelings of isolation might not actually last forever.

As an author, there is no greater joy than someone coming up to you with tears in their eyes to express what your book means to them. That moment makes all the hard work of overcoming the blank page, the late-night soul-searching, and the journey of becoming an author so worth it. 

Celebrate

When you feel it, I invite you to celebrate your connection with yourself, with Spirit, with other humans, and with our world. Sometimes that sensation is fleeting, and it may take some time to show up. But when it does, you know you’ve cut through your own barriers (whether they’re anxiety, stress, or something else) to your purpose. Your writing may even turn into a book someday. Call me when you think they might – I want to know the secrets to your transformation and help you share them with the people who are hungry to discover their own purpose. Your story may be their catalyst.