I went through a period recently where I could feel my writing drifting toward “fine,” more polished, more professional, and somehow less alive. Around the same time, I got physically run down and actually lost my voice. That pause forced me to stop and really listen. I reworked a piece I was about to publish, stripped it back to something truer, and felt the difference immediately. Interestingly, my physical voice came back right after. Whether people frame that as intuition, nervous system feedback, or something else, it was a clear signal for me: when the voice goes generic, the body notices. This piece articulated that drift really well.
You just articulated something most people feel but can't name. The drift toward "fine" is invisible until you notice the aliveness fading. Takes courage to strip back instead of polishing more.
I really appreciated this, Nick.
I went through a period recently where I could feel my writing drifting toward “fine,” more polished, more professional, and somehow less alive. Around the same time, I got physically run down and actually lost my voice. That pause forced me to stop and really listen. I reworked a piece I was about to publish, stripped it back to something truer, and felt the difference immediately. Interestingly, my physical voice came back right after. Whether people frame that as intuition, nervous system feedback, or something else, it was a clear signal for me: when the voice goes generic, the body notices. This piece articulated that drift really well.
You just articulated something most people feel but can't name. The drift toward "fine" is invisible until you notice the aliveness fading. Takes courage to strip back instead of polishing more.
Cool perspective!
Stick around for what's to come. I've got some real humdingers planned for this week 🙏