Stepping outside my comfort zone

I work a four-day work week. On my two off days, I make it a point to try something new because it keeps me growing and learning. Today, I’m trying out Medium.

I am at heart a writer. After graduating from university, I wrote my first book — a fantasy novel titled “Skyva’s Story — The 8 Rings of Legend”. I did it on a whim.

When I started selling the book, M, an acquaintance from university bounded up to me and said, “Wow! You really have a gift of writing!”

That was when I thought, “Hey, y’know, you’re right!”

I never thought I had a gift for writing. I just knew it came easily for me, and wondered why it didn’t for others.

I was a science student, a graduate in Chemistry. Since my university days, I’ve always enjoyed taking Arts modules, which my coursemates hated because of the long essays we had to write. I’d finish in an hour what took them days to write. I never thought much about it.

“I’ve always wanted to write a book!” M continued. I nodded and smiled. I never wanted to write a book. Not that I didn’t want to write, but it’s never been on my list of things to do before I die. It’s never been on my list of dreams, not that I had one for a long time. It’s just something I did.

“How did you do it?” asked M.

I just sat down and wrote. I wrote one chapter a day. On Blogger. Which I understand was built by the same people who built Medium. I just spent two hours a day writing a chapter of the story, not knowing where the characters were leading me, but enjoying every step of the journey.

I published each chapter as I wrote it, and got responses and feedback from my friends, who were written as characters in my story. Writing for an audience eager to know how their fantasy alter-egos would turn out helped me to keep writing this story.

On Day 70, the friend on which the main antagonist was based on said to me, “You should publish this book.”

I never thought about it, but hey, I guess even back then I was already pushing the limits of my comfort zone. So I did. I got the story published and in November 2004, my first book was born.

A year later, I got my first job as a staff writer for Catholic News. My book helped me to get the job, because it clearly established that I could write. In between I had also written a biography for Ho Weng Toh, a World War II pilot. He’s still around, by the way, and he’s got a great life story.

I spent five years writing for Catholic News, and went through all stages of faith. I wrote another book titled “Befriending Jesus” and gave most of them away in place of name cards. I still have a few copies left.

I eventually lost my Catholic faith altogether. Stepping outside my comfort zone now meant stepping outside my religion, my church. My Catholicism had become my comfort zone and with it, my job.

My time with the Catholic Church has taken away so much from me — but it’s also given me a lot. I have a love-hate relationship with this religion now, but I shall stop here for fear of entering another rant.

I became a financial planner after that, but I’ve never given up writing. From 2008 — 2013, I gradually converted a one-man scripture reflection ministry called OXYGEN into one that can run without me around. I had to, because I knew I wouldn’t stay Catholic forever.

I’m now in the midst of writing my third book, and my first on the topic of financial planning. It’s shaping up well and should be out by the end of the year.

I thoroughly enjoy the exercise of writing. It helps me to process my thoughts. I’ve tried and stopped many attempts at blogging, for fear that I cannot keep up the commitment of writing for an audience. But last night, I read a Medium article on writing and decided to write again, on a regular basis. On Medium.

I’ve decided to write because that’s what I do. And the only way to improve my writing is to write. I don’t want to sit down and wait for an inspiration to write anymore, because writing in itself is an inspiration. And Medium is just so beautiful a… medium… to write on.

And so I write to step outside my comfort zone. I hope you will join me.