Why write

The purpose of this article is to make the case for writing. Why you should make writing a common practice of yours no matter your age, occupation, or background. And to even exhort you to, if possible… Get your writing out there. To make it publically available.

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• Writing is self-articulation. By means of:
  • Thinking
  • Self-Unraveling
  • Communication
  • Transmutation
• Why make it publically available
• Leaving Thoughts

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Note: I say “Self-articulation” not just as being better at communication, but as being more proficient in thought, speech, and execution. When I talk about self-articulation I mean your ability to generate cohesive ideas, communicate them, and bring them into reality.

Thinking

It is easy to fool yourself by thinking that when you are thinking, you are actually thinking. Or by thinking that just by absorbing some information you are learning something. It is when you are presented with a blank page that you notice how easy it is to deceive yourself into the idea that you are doing something useful with your time by “consuming” some tweet, podcast, YouTube video… Or this image we have of a philosopher with a cigar in one hand, looking out the window with a reflective gaze; Thought this reflection can plant the seed of an idea to be cultivated later on and it is something cool to do from time to time… And there is actually nothing wrong with being present and doing nothing but enjoying the moment, but when formally talking about thinking and “self-improvement” (I prefer the term self-articulation), definitely neither the consumer nor the philosopher stand a chance against writing. Not to mention that in the consumer’s case, his time is spent in a more sterile fashion. Most people that do this are not present, they’re just fooling themselves into the idea that they’re doing something good with their time while it is just a cope mechanism for avoidance.

There is a colossal difference between just thinking, and the thinking involved in writing. In fact, writing is actually thinking, because we have to organize our ideas in a structured and coherent way that communicates and makes the case for it. And through this writing, the flaws in our thinking and gaps in our knowledge become self-evident as we try to articulate them on the page, therefore making us question our understanding, fostering critical thinking, and revisiting our thoughts, ideas, and references to become more literate and knowledgeable on the subject; more capable of not only communicating things better, but also of formulating, and executing plans more logically and concisely. Because this is the other thing with writing… it usually involves curating and filtering your thoughts and ideas so that only the essential elements remain on the page.

Self-Unraveling

I say self-unraveling because this term encompasses the whole idea better than a term like self-discovery. This is because yes, of course it is helpful for self-discovery, but also there is already a lot about yourself which you are consciously aware of, but that you haven’t articulated properly. So the term self-unraveling encompasses both, that which you don’t know (or at least are not consciously aware of), and also that which you know is there, but that for one reason or another you haven’t dared to come to terms with. Or simply that you haven’t had the time to articulate properly. In this sense, it will help you to get rid of that which keeps part of you trapped in the past, and also to have a clearer foundation with which to confront the future.

Writing is great for self-discovery because independently of the type of writing you choose and the subject you choose to write about, you will still learn more about yourself and your thought processes. Take for instance the case of an essay you do about a completely impersonal subject such as Newtonian physics. Even though the subject isn’t directly related to you, how it was written, to the degree that you were able to explain and communicate the subject, how complex or concise the piece is, and factors of the sort… Denote how is your mental state at that moment, how clear is your understanding of the subject, how good is your ability to write and to communicate it properly. And overall sets a data point to help you measure the progress of your intellectual endeavor throughout time.

Of course, if you write in a more opinionated way you will be transmitting your ideas into the paper, which, as stated above is completely different (and way more rewarding) than merely thinking about them. And if you are writing about yourself, how your day was, and things of the sort… you will have a way more accurate picture of your life. Sometimes if you go back in your writing you won’t even recognize yourself! which is a great experiment for self-discovery. It is as if with writing you were discovering unknown chambers in your inner maze, resolving puzzles and riddles, and at the same time carving yourself out of it.

Communication

Communication is an element of utmost importance for your success. In fact, since our experience is ruled by perception before anything else, your success is tied first and foremost to your ability to communicate your ideas clearly. You gain the favor of others by how good you make them feel, or by how knowledgeable you are perceived to be. And either of those is dependent on how good you are at expressing yourself, which of course is also developed by your ability to talk, write, and think. Adding that it is not enough to just be a good communicator, or to be pleasant, but it is of utmost necessity to be as competent as you can. The point here is, that generally it will be of little value if you are amazing at your job or you have a great idea yet you are terrible at communicating your/its value, or worst… if you are disliked by the people you work with/for. While writing is not the only way to develop your capacity to communicate, it is an extremely good tool to learn to express your ideas in a clear and structured manner and to develop your capacity to persuade and state your points.

Transmutation

All of the above amounts to how articulated you are, which marks to the degree that you are able to transmute things into reality. There are few habits more beneficial, far-reaching, and powerful that you could develop than writing. As the alchemists you will be able to distill the gold in the ideas, as the knight pen and paper become a mighty sword and shield, and as the wizard your articulations become profoundly powerful spells. You will be capable of moving armies, gaining the favor of kings, and overthrowing empires. Doors will open to you which you have never imagined of, and you will become a well-versed man who no one would want as an enemy.

Why make it publically available

While some of you may want to keep your writing private depending on how personal it is and because of your level of proficiency at writing, I encourage you to make it public to the extent that you can. In lots of cases the potential downsides simply become irrelevant compared to the upsides:

1. The biggest upside is the doors that it opens. You can’t imagine how powerful of a tool is writing in this digital age. You gain access to tens, hundreds, if not thousands of persons at a glance which opens the possibility to connect with people who can change your life in ways you sometimes aren’t even able to imagine. This is true especially on Twitter, you can’t imagine the level of power, intelligence & charisma of some of the individuals reading my tweets. Some of who I have connected with, became friends with, and who have brought me a lot of benefits in many different ways (as I hopefully have done for them too) which I’m grateful for.
2. Another great benefit is the capacity to impact others for the good. Actually, the first benefit will rarely come without this one. And I tell you, there is almost no better feeling than when you read the messages you get from people thanking you for your writings; that in one way or another these have helped them… even sometimes to see the light in the darkest places and situations. And do not belittle the power of your writings for how insignificant these might seem, all it takes is for it to resonate for the good with one person to be a source of light in this world. And it always has the potential to spread like fire! Lighting the torch of many more than what you could have thought of.
3. If done with tenacity, no matter how good or bad the writing is, it will become a public record of your commitment and discipline. Even if you aren’t exactly good at it you will get better with time. It takes nothing but courage and humility to be willing to be seen as a fool in order to become a master. You are, to put it in some way… attending to the battlefield. And that effort is ten times more valuable than the critique of the smartest coward. As Roosevelt would say… You are the man in the arena.

Leaving thoughts

When done carefully, writing is not just putting words into a paper. It becomes a process of structuring (otherwise unstructured and most likely wasted) thinking. A process of self-unraveling, of communication, of learning to persuade and make a case for something, ideally, that you find valuable and important, and to think critically. Writing is a process of self-articulation; a process of coding and decoding the subject of the writing as our thinking unravels and gets structured and refined in the process. Helping us analyze and get rid of the shackless of the past, confront the challenges of the present, and build a solid foundation with which to confront the future.

So yeah, I think that’s it. Take pen and paper as sword and shield and join the arena of life in your quest for victory!

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Categories: IMPROVEMENT