Writing forces you to tame the jumble of thoughts that exist in the vagaries of your subconscious and organize them into a meaningful sequence. It requires critical thinking that exercises parts of your brain that are typically on auto-pilot.
Did you catch that? Writing will exercise your brain.
This is why some people say that they don’t enjoy writing. Asking someone to write a 5,000 word essay who hasn’t written more than a three paragraph email in months is like asking a casual jogger to compete in the Boston marathon. It’s not enjoyable if you’re not in shape to do it.
Learning to write well doesn’t happen overnight. Like anything else, writing is a skill that only improves over time with repetition and honest feedback.
With practice, our writing can become a powerful medium to influence others. Our words create opportunities to inform, persuade, or entertain our readers.
And that includes you.
In fact, you are the most important reader because you are the most easily influenced by what you have to say.
I love this quote by Richard Feynman. “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.”
So use writing to quality check your ideas. When it comes time to make an important decision, give critical feedback, or deliver a motivational speech, put your thoughts down on paper. Even if a transcript isn’t required, the act of writing causes you to slow down. Pause. Reflect. And question what you truly believe.
In this way, improving your writing also improves the clarity of your thinking and the strength of your ideas.
I understand the importance of writing, journaling, etc. as many speak publicly on how it has positively enhanced their lives, but for myself it feels more forced vs enjoyed. As with anything worth while, it takes time and I love how you referred to writing as exercise for the brain. Probably more importantly than exercising our physical bodies is to exercise our minds and writing is a great way to do so. Thanks for sharing, Ty!
Thanks Jake! I think there’s a level of proficiency that everyone should strive to achieve in their writing. It doesn’t need to be your chosen medium for personal creativity. But as an essential tool for thinking clearly and communicating effectively, it ought to be something that we aim to practice and improve over time.