Quit These 5 Habits If You Want Explosive Growth (Most Writers Never Do)

Remove these 5 things to accelerate your progress

Writing long-form is the secret to trust, depth, and real growth.

But most writers never master it. That’s why I made Long Form Mastery. A free course for anyone on Substack who wants to go deeper, grow faster, and finally feel proud of their writing.

Start improving today.

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What if the secret to explosive growth wasn’t doing more?

But doing less of what’s holding you back. Most writers keep one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. They’re publishing. Posting. Hustling. But still not getting seen. Still not making money. Still wondering what am I doing wrong?

I’ve been there.

In 12 months, I went from $500/month to $5,000/month. Not because I discovered a secret hack. But because I started letting go of what was slowing me down.

These five habits? They’re dream-killers. Confidence-thieves. The invisible handbrake on your growth. Ready to release it?

Start by quitting these:

1. Quit playing the comparison game

Smoking is to lungs what comparison is to writers.

Slow. Silent. Deadly.

You scroll. Someone’s going viral. You? Still stuck on 217 followers and a comment from your mum. It messes with your head. You start questioning everything:

• Am I too late?

• Too boring?

• Too slow?

I’ve been there.

There was a moment last year when someone I follow blew past 10,000 Subscribers. Meanwhile, I was inching along. I wish I could say I cheered them on. But I didn’t. I froze. I stared at the screen. And thought, Why bother?

Comparison is fake fuel.

It’ll get you moving, but not for long. Because this race is not with them. It’s with you. So here’s a better plan: Pick a stat that matters to you—followers, views, $$—and write it down. Track it weekly. Then, when doubt shows up (because it will), look back. See how far you’ve come.

This is the only comparison that counts:

Old you vs. new you. You don’t need to go viral. You don’t need to beat anyone. You just need to grow. So run your race. Head down. Eyes on your own lane.

And give everything you’ve got to beat who you were.

2. Quit waiting to be an expert

Ever feel like a fraud with nothing worth saying?

Let me tell you something most writers don’t realize: Your reader is scared. Unsure.
They don’t need a mountain top expert. They’re seeking someone just a few steps ahead who says, “Hey, I’ve been where you are. Here's what helped.”

If you’ve solved a problem. Even a tiny one. You’ve got something to offer.
So stop hiding. Step out of the bushes. You’re not claiming to be an expert. You’re showing up as a human.

A human with a story. A win. A scar. A shortcut.

That’s what people crave.

When I started writing about writing, I felt too small. Too new. Too underqualified.
Who was I to teach anything? But I shared anyway. I wrote what I was learning in real time. And people… responded.

They thanked me. Asked questions. Wanted more. And now? That writing brings in $3,000 every three months.

Not because I knew everything. But because I was honest.

Don’t post what you think you should say.

• Say what’s true.

• Say what’s messy.

• Say what’s helped.

Readers don’t want polish. They want proof. That someone like them can figure it out. So be that proof. Drop the act. Say the thing. And show up as the real you.

That’s the version people will follow.

3. Quit playing small

I used to think great writers were born different.

That they had magic fingers. Viral DNA. Confidence baked into their bones. 98,000 followers? Must be nice.

But then I got on Zoom with Sinem Gunel. And you know what struck me? They’re human. They second-guess their posts. They publish duds. They stare at the screen just like you and me.

That was the moment I stopped putting them on a pedestal.

And started thinking: Why not me? At the start, my writing was bad. Like, “please no one read this” bad. My audience? Basically just my mum (and even she skimmed).

But I kept going. And I occasionally get name-dropped next to Nicolas Cole:

Not because I’m special. Because I didn’t quit.

So if you’re walking around with low expectations. Thinking you’ll never grow, never make it. Delete them.

Writing online isn’t a lottery. It’s a skill. One you can learn. One that pays back with money, freedom, purpose. Keep showing up. Keep improving. And expect something good to happen.

Because if you don’t believe it’s possible…You’ll never give it everything you’ve got.

4. Quit workshipping overnight wins

Expectations shape everything.

I went to Croatia to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Our hotel room had issues, so they gave us a free upgrade. I was thrilled. Then I got a taxi from the airport expecting to pay $28. It was $45. Now I was mad.

Same day. Same trip. Different expectations, different emotions.

If they’d just given us the nicer room without telling us? Meh. If I’d expected the taxi to be $80 and got it for $45? I’d be fist-pumping my way through arrivals. (Yes, I’m that stingy.)

Expectations define how we feel about what happens.

Which is why high ones can be dangerous.

• You expect a Note to go viral.

• You aim for 10,000 subscribers by next month.

• You set a revenue goal that should’ve happened by now.

Dont achieve it and you’ll feel crushed. Even if it you’re doing well. That disappointment drains your energy. Kills your momentum. Makes you think, Maybe this isn’t working.

So much is out of your control. The only things that aren’t? Writing. Improving. Solving a reader’s problem. If you keep doing those long enough, good things happen. But how fast? No clue.

So ditch the sky-high expectations. And trade them for something better: Devotion to the process.

That’s how you win this game.

5. Quit the fortune cookie writing

This might sting, but here goes:

Obvious advice isn’t helping anyone. You know the stuff. Bite-sized platitudes dressed up as deep insight:

• Drink water

• Believe in yourself

• Show up every day

Yawn.

These won’t grow your audience. They won’t make you money. They won’t build trust. Because they say nothing. And yet so many writers lean on them. Why? Because they’re scared.

Scared they don’t have anything new to say. So they say what sounds wise.
What looks good on a quote card. What might—just maybe—impress someone.

But here’s the truth: The internet doesn’t need more fortune cookies. It needs you. Not your curated cleverness. Your real stuff.

Tell us what you’ve learned. What you’re building. What you’ve failed at—and how you’re adjusting. The system you created at work. The weird advice a friend gave you that actually worked.

That’s the kind of content people stop for. That’s what builds credibility. That’s how you stand out.

Notice how my best-performing posts do this:

• How I Make $5K/Month Writing 3 Hours a Day (Anyone Can Do This)

• 3 Quiet Habits That Created 435 Articles in 22 Months (With a 9–5)

• I Gained 21,000 Followers With These 3 Dead Simple Steps

It’s not magic. It’s just this:

Do things. Write about them.

Kill the platitudes. Show us what you’ve done.

Derek

PS. If you want to write posts that actually get read (and shared), I made a free course to help. It’s called Long Form Mastery. Grab it here.