I meet a lot of people who claim to be writers. They like to identify with the images and lifestyle and assumptions that go along with being a writer, but they don’t actually do any serious writing. Writing poems or stories as catharsis or therapy — to vent or get something off your chest — is not the same as writing poetry or short stories professionally. Writing can be enjoyable and is one of many forms of self-help, but that doesn’t mean that you’re born to be a writer. You might sew a button on your shirt, but you’re not a tailor; you might cook dinner for your family, but you’re not a chef; you might play golf for fun, but you’re not on the PGA tour or in charge of a golf course.

This is where the disparity begins — the dueling identities. If you’re an administrative assistant in your day job, and you are not actively advancing your career, and you write a few poems a year in your spare time, you are not a writer. Identifying with being a writer only brings you further from the life you are living. As each day passes, you think about how you’re not doing what you should be doing, you begin to become depressed because you’re too busy worrying about living a fantasy life someday and paying no attention to the life you have right now. Wanting to change careers and taking action to make that happen is one thing; hoping that some miracle will occur that will change everything for you is a path to depression and anxiety.