Freelancers using ChatGPT in DelhiFreelancers using ChatGPT in Delhi
Web-Designer, Framer Expert.
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Web-Designer, Framer Expert.
Multi-Genre Writer | Writing Across Ideas and Observations
9
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Multi-Genre Writer | Writing Across Ideas and Observations
Cover image for ARE WE POSTING TO IMPROVE
ARE WE POSTING TO IMPROVE OUR SKILLS OR FOR VALIDATION?  My opinion: For both. Because only if we get validation will we have the motivation to improve our skills. “So now, we need to pause here to understand the trap.” Why do we post? For skill building. But why and how does validation addiction happened beyond skill building? SKILL BUILDING VS VALIDATION ADDICTION   What is skill building? Our work, our learning, our growth. Here, our motivation is completely internal, where we get inspired by seeing our own growth, learning and clarity about our work. What is validation addiction? How many reactions or likes I get, how many comments come to my post, thinking about follower growth, mentions and shares of our posts. Our mood mostly depends on this kind of recognition. If we do not get this external approval, the satisfaction of internal skill building fades, replaced by self-doubt and demotivation.   How Do We Get Stuck in The Trap of Validation, Moving Away from Skill Building? We need to understand the real purpose of skill building is and how it is different from validation addiction. The core of skill building is to focus only on the work, instead of counting the number of likes. It is a process of taking a step forward in the journey. In this journey, we do not get instant results, but every effort we make contributes to enhancing our growth. We simply need more practice and consistency for improvement. The role of feedback is also important, but internally, like, when we question ourselves: “Have I expressed my content technically and strategically?” External approvals are optional in this phase because these are the patterns of the foundation period. Observing the Foundation and Fundamentals: ‘What is working and what is not’, analysing our own strengths and weaknesses, and then making improvements strengthens the Growth Mindset. When our foundation is strong, we build trust in ourselves, and that builds confidence. According to my experience, if we work on our own skills, we gain independence in the form of self-satisfaction. As a result, this change comes from self-improvement, not external validation. LET’S TAKE ‘WRITING’ AS AN EXAMPLE: Suppose we started posting on different platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn or any other platform. Our initial goal is to improve our skills. We started writing and sharing our ideas on active platforms. Here, our motivation is completely internal, because we only want to understand our own content. By analysing the points: ‘We can write well’, ‘How we can grow in the long term’ and ‘Whether the content we are creating should be clear and meaningful’. Till here, we are purely motivated by skill building, without any demand or need for validation. How does the shift from skill building to validation addiction happen? When we start our work, we also start posting at the same time. After posting, we get our ‘first feedback’ and ‘recognition’. For example: Likes, Comments, Repost or Share. Internally, this gives us an indication of visibility, and we become curious for more feedback. It is natural, this happens with everyone. But when this process starts, we observe that our mood begins to depend on these External Validations and Reactions. After posting, if the post performs well, then our mood is happy, otherwise, we feel internally demotivated. This is a very subtle shift because usually, Internal Motivation is weaker as compared to External Motivation. Gradually, we get used to it. This is the pattern of shifting from skill building to validation addiction.   SIGNALS THAT INDICATE ABOUT THE SHIFT TOWARD VALIDATION ADDICTION. 1.      Measuring ourself based on our peer’s engagement: Peer’s Engagement: Comparing our progress or abilities with others responses. FOR EXAMPLE: Comparing the likes and comments of our post with others and thinking, “that my content is weak” and “because of this, our confidence and mood start fluctuating.” Getting stuck in our own thoughts, and start measuring our self-assessment and our growth by other people engagement numbers. 2.      Not being able to feel satisfaction without reactions or comments on a post: Ignoring our day-by-day learnings, improving skills and still comparing our work just based on numbers. Even if our work is technically perfect, we still feel demotivated when the numbers do not reflect. 3.      Feeling anxious about the outcome of every post: Before or after publishing every post, we create a picture in our mind: ‘Will this post perform well?’ ‘Will people like it?’  This anxious feeling kills internal motivation, and our focus shifts from Skill Building to outcome obsession in the form of Validation.   4.      Taking feedback not for learning, but for comparison: We do not use feedback or analytics to improve our skills, but to see, “How did my post perform compared to others’ posts?” This shift of comparing our work with others work takes us away from Skill Building and leads us toward Validation obsession. HOW TO AVOID THIS TRAP? We can avoid this trap with the right approach. Right approach does not only mean “Having Confidence,” but its deeper meaning is understanding the process of our work and building trust in it.  “Of course, comments, likes, shares and reposts and validation is important for us. Because these are the indicators of our post’s reach.” “Increase in impressions is a part of reach, which helps us understand that our content has reached to how many people.” “But being confident and motivated about our own work, so that along with us, others can also feel motivated.” When we work on improving our skills, whether it is writing or any other skill, we should clearly know: “What we are learning?” “How we are improving?” “Whether our current state is better than our previous state or not?” After feeling these positive changes and self-assessment is what it means to grab the fundamentals. This clarity builds internal confidence. AT THIS STAGE, THE ROLE OF VALIDATION CHANGES. Earlier, we were using validation to judge our value. But now, we are using it only as an indicator of reach and visibility. With this, our confidence is not getting harmed or affected. In short, if likes or comments are higher, it simply means the content has reached to more people, that is it. We do not decide from this whether our work is good or bad.   The real shift happens here: The Source of Motivation Comes from Within, Not from Outside. When our published posts do not perform well, ‘No likes, ‘No reach’ Even then our consistency and practice do not break. This part becomes the real turning point for Growth along with Skill Building. Because this time our focus has shifted away from reactions towards Learning and Improvement. Now we see every post as a part of Creativity, Enhancing, Showing Up and Consistency, which is an ‘Experimental Learning Phase’. Gradually, when we keep working in this way, we develop sustainable skills for the long term, which do not fluctuate with likes or comments.   CONCLUSION According to my learning and experience, when we are internally stable then our content also becomes more genuine and clearer, because we are not writing to impress, but to express. Interestingly, in this phase, our content also connects with the Readers and Audience. Because it is not created for Validation, but from real understanding and experience. That is why it naturally connects with others.  #ArticleWriting #FreelanceWriter #ContentStrategy
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Cover image for CONTENT Is More Than POSTING
While
CONTENT Is More Than POSTING While writing about this, I actually started reflecting on my own work. This made me question myself, “I am working on my brand but somewhere not really communicating about this.” When I started analysing what I am doing, I realised that I have already communicated many things very clearly through my posts. What I am doing. How I am doing it. Why I am doing it. Because, my focus has mostly been on clarity and observations. I think, step by step, as I am building my journey, people are also getting to know more about me through my content. This also made me think about how we consume content on different social media platforms. Whether it is LinkedIn, Quora, Medium or any other platform, we consume many different types of content. Some content is based on personal insights and experiences. I observe that this type of content tends to connect more naturally, but it is not necessarily created for brands. Sometimes, even very well-written content related to brands, which is strong from a strategy perspective, still gets ignored. This made me understand that the problem is not always the content. Sometimes, the problem can be with its relevance to the audience. But before creating content, we should exactly know: “What is the actual focus of this content?” When I read content, I have a habit of understanding its core insight. Once I understand the core insight, it becomes easier for me to understand what the content is trying to communicate and what strategy may be behind it. “In fact, this is also how I approach my own content.” The niche, the audience and the relevance of the content are some of the most important parts of creating content. Because regular posting is not the only thing that matters. What matters is understanding what the content is communicating to the audience and whether it is actually relevant to them. Maybe a brand can create content regularly. But if we do not understand what that content is actually communicating, then are we really communicating? Content can fill a calendar. But communication needs relevance. Share your thoughts. #ContentWriting #ContentStrategy #BrandCommunication #SocialMediaWriting #BrandStrategy #ManjotKaurWrites
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Cover image for When WRITING Became More
I switched
When WRITING Became More I switched from Academic/Education counselling to writing, as everyone knows. I have already shared about this in a few of my posts and Medium blogs. 7 months back I started writing from absolute zero and after that, my entire focus went into learning. I started writing across multiple platforms and published my observations, which today are the proof of my learnings, consistency and which clearly shows what I can do. Gradually, when I started receiving acknowledgement from readers, then I had a realisation along with it and it changed my thought process. I realised that when people connect, Especially when no one knows you, and Still take out their time not just to read your content, but also They engage with it, Share their thoughts, Remember it, Revisit your content, it builds a certain confidence. Because I feel self-published content is often underrated, but It is that when you do not have outcomes, There is no guidance and Still, you consistently continue your work, Showing your vulnerability and your weaknesses. Especially what I like is, when we self-publish content, Then all kinds of readers and audiences look at our content from different perspectives. They give feedback and sometimes there is criticism as well. With these variations, the content that gets posted becomes a lifetime proof. After all of this, I thought about it for several days and at the end, I decided that when readers connect with a blog or content, why not now turn my work into my own brand, make it memorable, and provide proper services. THAT IS HOW I DECIDED TO BUILD A BRAND. Although there are still so many things I need to learn. But I believe LEARNINGS NEVER END. Every post, every new platform, teaches us something new according to its own requirements. Also, sometimes being demotivated and sometimes motivated, If I had kept waiting until I learned everything first and then started building, Maybe I would not have reached where I am today.
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Cover image for BEING SEEN Is Not Enough
 
While
BEING SEEN Is Not Enough   While thinking about this post, a question came to my mind. When I decided to BUILD A BRAND.   If I DO NOT PUBLISH my work across different GLOBAL PLATFORMS, then “How will people know who I am?”   If my WORK REMAINS only on my laptop, “How will people know what I am capable of?”   This made me understand the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, Social Media Presence & Brand Authority.   “SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE is the physical picture of our work.”   It helps people to DISCOVER our work, Understand what WE CREATE and Know that we EXIST.   It does not always mean DIRECTLY PITCHING our services.   Sometimes, by CONSISTENTLY sharing work, People gradually BECOME AWARE of our skills, thoughts and approach.   But, “Having a STRONG SOCIAL MEDIA presence DOES NOT automatically mean having BRAND AUTHORITY.”   Because when people ACTUALLY WORK with us, Their EXPERIENCE DECIDES whether our brand creates trust or not.   If our online presence creates certain EXPECTATIONS, But our actual work DOES NOT MATCH those expectations, Then the AUTHORITY we are trying to build can get OVERSHADOWED.   On the other hand,   BRAND AUTHORITY is the stamp or clarity of that work.   It is built when people who work with us provide VALUABLE FEEDBACK, Help us to understand OUR FLAWS and We CONTINUE IMPROVING while staying connected with our vision.   “A BRAND does not become AUTHORITATIVE only because of visibility.”   “It becomes AUTHORITATIVE when the value behind that visibility is experienced by others.”   The reality for me is that, IF I DO NOT PUBLISH my work across different platforms, I will not HAVE PROOF to show people.   My self-published blogs, Articles and Posts are not just content for me.   They are: Proof of my WORK, Proof of my LEARNING and Proof of my CONSISTENCY.   Without that ONLINE PRESENCE, People would have NO REASON to trust me or connect with me.   Now, gradually, people are getting to know my work. Along with that, hopefully BRAND AUTHORITY will also build with time.   CONCLUSION: SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE attracts attention. BRAND AUTHORITY earns trust.   While writing this post, I felt that this post itself is proof of my work, my learning and my consistency.
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AI Video Specialist | Cinematic Ads • SaaS • Educational Vid
5.0
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AI Video Specialist | Cinematic Ads • SaaS • Educational Vid
Canva Expert Designer|Marketing Materials|Graphic Designer
New to Contra
Canva Expert Designer|Marketing Materials|Graphic Designer
Technical Content Writer | AI, IT, EdTech & SaaS
New to Contra
Technical Content Writer | AI, IT, EdTech & SaaS
Cover image for You can tell when someone
You can tell when someone wrote something just to post it. And you can also tell when someone actually meant every word. That #contentdifference (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23contentdifference&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) is what this newsletter is about. I wrote about: the pressure writers silently feel online why polished writing often feels empty how validation changes creativity and why emotionally accurate writing stays longer than perfect writing Probably one of my most honest newsletters till now. #WritingCommunity (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23writingcommunity&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #ContentWriting (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23contentwriting&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #LinkedInCreators (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23linkedincreators&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #Storytelling (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23storytelling&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #PersonalBranding (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23personalbranding&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #CreativeProcess (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23creativeprocess&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #ContentStrategy (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23contentstrategy&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #AuthenticContent (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23authenticcontent&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #WriterLife (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23writerlife&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED) #CreatorEconomy (https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23creatoreconomy&origin=HASH_TAG_FROM_FEED)
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Writing is an Art and i am an Artist.
Writing is an Art and i am an Artist.
Upgrading Websites from "good" to autopilot sales machines.
Upgrading Websites from "good" to autopilot sales machines.