Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate thoughtful conversation with yourself.
- Robin Sharma
I have been writing now for more than one month.
I do it mainly to free my mind from all the crazy thoughts in my head.
Writing allows me to express my thoughts. I get clarity on decisions I need to make. I can unburden myself from a heavy emotion.
Before I started writing, the numerous things that occupy my mind drove me crazy. I could not make proper decisions anymore. I was keeping things inside me because I could not let them out.
I needed a way to dump everything and free my mind - that is when I decided to try writing.
Since then, it became a form of expression and a cathartic experience. It has made me a more self-aware person.
My writing has turned into a habit. My day would not be complete if I do not write anything for a single day.
Here are some of the benefits of writing daily.
Writing Releases Tension
Remember when you were going through a tough time and you needed someone to talk to?
How did it feel after talking to someone? Massive relief, right?!.
It is like the weight on your shoulder was lifted.
That is what I get from writing especially after an emotional event.
Some people prefer to talk to someone about their feelings.
I do that too! I talk to my wife about everything. What’s great about writing is now I can talk to my wife with some added insight and realizations.
Writing allows me to have a real conversation without having to deal with the emotions tied to it.
How many times have you had a conversation cut short because of intense emotions?
That happened to us numerous times.
But when I started writing, I’m able to have an internal conversation with myself and detach the feelings. It helps us to objectively see the event for what it is.
Writing Brings Clarity
I used to think a lot about situations that happened to me. I would play it in my head over and over again trying to understand why it happened. But after some time, and because of the daily distractions, they just suddenly disappear. I never got the chance to fully learn from the experience.
Writing enables me to record my thoughts. I can take notes of what transpired, my reactions, and what I learned. The process allows me to question my assumptions and my emotions becoming a therapeutic act.
I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say.
- Flannery O'Connor
Flannery is right!
Writing Increases my Vocabulary
Ubiquitous
Ambiguous
Cathartic
These are some new words I learned because of reading. But I got to understand them more when I used them in my writing.
It is said that if you can not write what you have not learned.
Writing allows me to experiment and use words that I have heard for the first time. That helps me add that to my vocabulary. When I regularly use it, it becomes permanently embedded in me. I start getting comfortable using it until it becomes normal.
Writing Helps Me Write Clearly
My idea of writing before was that it should be perfect. It should sound complicated and full of deep insights. I should be using big words to sound convincing. It should be long, at least 1,000 words, so it would seem that I know a lot.
Writing that way has trained my mind that I should cram every single idea into a single article. But instead of providing value, it turned into a spaghetti of random thoughts and fluff.
Since then I have stuck to following the KISS ( Keep It Short & Simple) Principle.
By writing every day, I realized effective writing should aim to be concise. People reading should understand it in fewer words possible. Do not beat around the bush and waste people’s time. Get straight to the point in a way that the readers can easily comprehend.
Conclusion
I have gotten a lot of benefits from my daily writing. I have also learned more about myself in a few months of writing than last year. It has made me a more aware person constantly reflecting on my thoughts and actions.
It has also given me the courage to publish online.
My goal for writing is to basically write for myself. I am talking to me 3 years ago. What I write are the things I wish I learned then.
And I know one person out there is going through the same thing I did 3 years ago. It is my intention to help that person with my writing.
Let’s be friends!
I want to help people with my stories, insights, and ideas.