Let's Talk About Writing...
No expert advice, no brilliant insights, just a few thoughts about the power of processing your thoughts to discover your truth.
“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
― Sylvia Plath
If you’ve read any of the posts shared across the past 15 weekdays, you know how important writing is to me. So for a change of pace after a couple of rather heavy posts, it seems like a good time to lighten things up by talking about why.
It also feels right because everything I’ve shared this week was discovered by writing through it. It began with my discovery of journaling in my teens on simple notebook paper in a tattered old binder I found the closet. Over the years, it evolved through various journals, pages from the typewriter, and keystrokes on the laptop.
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Photo by manny PANTOJA on Unsplash
The habit has been somewhat daily for years. I miss a day here and there, but when I do, the keyboard calls out to remind me there is only one way to quiet the circus in my head.
And that’s my basic take on writing — it’s the path to understanding what all the disparate thoughts, ideas, and concerns mean.
Folks who know me are well aware of my propensity for verbal processing of ideas and telling of stories. It’s the way I show up — driven by the need to understand, fueled by the energy of talking through things, anxious to gain a new perspective or discover something I missed.
But if I haven’t taken time to organize those monkeys in my hyperactive mental circus by writing, I hold back and opt-out of such conversation. Retreating like the introvert I am to process and sort it out, to let the monkeys do their tricks and release meaning from within the chaos.
That’s why I write.
I don’t have a choice.
I don’t know what I am thinking until I see it through the words on the screen. Only then can I handle the struggle of what to throw out and what to keep.
What I have learned through five decades of doing this is how valuable it is to retreat safely into your thoughts, allowing yourself to ‘say’ anything you want in your conversation with the keyboard. How liberating it is to have a place to unleash thoughts that torment, ideas that cycle, concerns that shout.
And how calming it is to walk away with the mind cleared of the clutter so you can focus on what matters at the moment.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you are also one who writes. After all, most writers are regular readers, searching for ideas to explore in their own writing.
Today’s Action Advice…
So I share all of this to encourage you to make your writing personal. To write to you first. Then discern what others need to learn from you. Allow yourself to discover the meaning within your journey in a safe and comfortable place. Open the door to understanding and unleashing the power within the lessons you’ve earned along the way.
Then share them with the world in whatever way makes sense to you. Because that’s why you went through the things you went through — to equip you to help others understand what their experiences mean.
P.S. Don’t forget to trust the process and enjoy the ride while discovering and unleashing your potential!