Why I’m taking up writing (and you should too)
I think it’s my perfectionism — I could spend five ten twenty minutes writing and re-writing (and re-writing and re-writing and re-writing) the same sentence until it sounded perfect in my head (proud to say this sentence took maybe only about three).
Kind of ironic when you think about it then that for a hot second I dreamt about becoming a poet (in my defence I was just starting primary school and probably didn’t realise that writing may be a tad harder than staying within lines while colouring) and chose to study one of the most writing-intensive subjects at university — law — which unironically I did enjoy very much. I am a hooman of contradictions, what can I say.
So why did I decide now that I should pour my heart out onto the world wide web? While I’m not going to pretend “new year new me” had nothing to do with it, I’ve come to realise that writing could be good for me. Really good, actually. Here’s why.
1 I’m the kind of person who keeps most things to myself until I know the outcome and have had the time to process. Don’t get me wrong — taking the time to reflect before you speed dial your friends is completely natural and expected; but this has sometimes taken me weeks, months or even years — and I’m not even talking about the big stuff. I’m a chief-brusher-under-a-carpet one might say. So I’m hoping writing could help me reflect and process what I’m going through more in real time. I’ve dabbled into journaling before and it did help to get my thoughts organised. The problem? My hand was always two sentences behind my mind. So while I’m not planning to go cold turkey on journaling, writing more structured pieces might give me more room for pause and reflection, and take me down the (good) rabbit holes I never knew existed.
2 I’m a terrible accountability buddy — to myself. And while I sometimes do tell my friends about my big ideas and plans before they’ve come to fruition, keeping it mostly to myself means, well, I’m accountable mostly to myself.
So I set myself some lofty goal and life gets in the way. Circumstances change, plans change — and I’m all for self-compassion — but if life always gets in the way, nothing will ever change. Truth be told, even the whole internet couldn’t stop me from straying if it came to it — but I feel that pouring it all out somehow adds that extra layer of accountability (even though no one might ever read this!). I may need to eat my words in a few months’ time but I’m willing to give myself the benefit of the doubt.
3 I want to be a better speaker. On occasion, I have meticulously rehearsed the five sentences I was going to present the night before for fear I will ramble on if I don’t pick my words in advance. More people fear public speaking than death you might counter — but I also know that public speaking is like a muscle that gets stronger the more you practice. Why not just…speak more in public then? Jump at any opportunity to present in front of others? That’s definitely a big part of the puzzle — but so is writing. Writing can help to articulate thoughts more clearly and concisely, keep them organised and not leave one scrambling for the right words when the spotlight is on. Like with anything, it’s a process — but the more I write, the better I’ll hopefully become.
4 I want to push myself out of my comfort zone. To the outside world I might appear like a confident person but deep inside I’m terrified of putting my ideas out there for fear that others won’t see them the way I do or judge me. Let me let you in on a little secret. I’ve wanted to run my own business since high school — I’m a dreamer at heart, I look at the world and see possibilities. And what have I done with my ideas? I’ve put them all in a trusty excel spreadsheet. That’s right — I’ve been tucking them away in a spreadsheet for years in the hopes that I’ll muster up the courage to bring them to life someday.
I know running a successful business takes far more than a good idea (and I don’t even know if mine are any good— excel can’t tell!) but telling the world what you believe in is a good first step. Until now, this has been between me and my excel spreadsheet — so even writing this out loud feels like a step in the right direction.
5 Finally, I want to write to remember my life. When you’re twenty-something and can’t remember what plagued your mind a year ago it’s a bit scary, isn’t it? I want to be able to take a trip down a memory lane and remember what was keeping me up at night, what I was going through and what was important to me at the time a year, five or even ten years ago. We’re constantly changing (perusing through old Facebook posts is an excellent reminder of that) and I’ve come to realise that being able to capture these little moments and thoughts is so so important. Future you will thank you.
I think I’ve managed to convince myself that taking up writing is a good idea — let’s wrap it up before I change my mind, shall we?
