metacognition and desensitization 🧠

Hey, hi, hello!

If you haven't read last week's Email Paradise (EP), you miiiiight be a lil out of the loop (go read it!!!!).

Reminder of this week's prompt in case you haven't done it yet:

Write bad copy. ON PURPOSE.

Write down lines that bother you or sentence structures that SCREAM, "oh you plugged that into claude, didn't you?"

Anything that makes you cringe because it's so bad.

For example:

1. It's not just an eye cream; it's your holy grail to remove dark circles.

2. I tried the quick fixes—apps I never opened, self-help books collecting dust, even some expensive stuff that didn't really help.

3. The real problem? I didn't have a simple, consistent way to make self-care a habit.

Same thing as I always recommend - set a timer for 15-20 minutes to write as much bad copy as you can about your products.

And now for the Psych Behind It 👇🏼

Metacognition. Aka the process of thinking about thinking. Instead of catching errors after the fact (the bad copy), you're reverse-engineering how errors get made. That conscious awareness of your own cognitive shortcuts is what makes copy stand out.
Pattern interruption. The brain learns faster from violated expectations (typically, we want to write GOOD copy). But writing copy that deliberately breaks your own standards creates a stronger neural imprint than writing good copy does.

As with all things in life, as humans, we tend to remember negative things more. So this makes the lesson sticker.
Desensitization. Repeated exposure to your own bad output lowers the threat response that perfectionism triggers. Each cringe-worthy sentence you finish on PURPOSE chips away at the emotional charge attached to imperfect drafts, which is the charge that causes writers to freeze, delete, and never publish.
Taste calibration through negative reinforcement. Ok, ik that sounds kind of word salad-y, but it's the most fascinating one imo.

Your aesthetic standards sharpen faster when you're writing the violations (bad copy) yourself. It's one thing to passively see/read it and another to be the architect behind it.

Every sentence that makes you cringe is your internalized standard saying, "ew I hate that" and the more times this fires off in a single session, the more it strengthens your standards, just like any other repeated neural activation does.

Ugh, it's psychology so freakin' cool??

I'm truly obsessed with these creative writing practices and the psych breakdown behind them...

But I'll be honest: they might be going away soon!

Because at the end of the day, I don't sell anything copywriting-related like digital products or courses. So I've been talking about it mainly because... I enjoy it.

But there's never been a "next step" to take. So unless a couple people come for my throat telling me they NEED to stay (*hint, hint* *wink, wink* reply to this email if you want me to keep sending them!!!), I'll probs sunset this series.

So what do you say, Reader: Love it or leave it?

Catch ya on the next wave,

This email was written with my own brain. No GenAI was used to brainstorm, write, or edit this.
If you enjoyed it, please let me know!! This is a labor of love for me & it truly means the world when you reply.

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246

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AE Marketing

metacognition and desensitization 🧠

but don't be creepy about it 😳

the white knight in shining armor 🗡️

bye bye performative content 🦑