I Accidentally Started Journaling and It’s Been a Game Changer
I just wanted to make money and I still do.
As someone who most likely needs to meditate or learn how to chill. I have an odd tendency to avoid things that I know will most likely help. I know it’s a little counterintuitive but maybe you can relate. Call it stubbornness, self sabotage or just plain stupidity. Perhaps, it’s ego.
Often, I find the best way to solve the majority of my issues is through taking action and addressing the root cause so I don’t have to deal with the dreaded symptoms.
The problem with an overly active brain is that there are often more distracting thoughts than coherent ideas and solutions. It’s not always possible to address the cause of your problems in the way you want.
Sometimes it depends on others, often it depends on yourself.
When I started writing again in June, I just wanted to make money. I thought it would be an interesting side hustle to share my thoughts on life and potentially make a living out of it one day. While some people can pull amazing figures right off the bat, for most of us it’s a long-term process.
But that’s fine. I’ve come to accept that progress takes time, and it isn’t only measured in dollar amounts.
I’ve come to the realisation that becoming a writer is a long-term game. And it’s one I am willing to play.
Going through some of my writing, I know that I need to change the way I write in order to have a greater impact on readers.
- I need to make it more useful or at least entertaining to earn their attention.
- Add more references to support my arguments
- Improve my formatting
- And sprinkle in a handful of quotes from people far more famous and intelligent than I am.
But I didn’t do much of that. I kept writing selfishly. And I loved it. It felt so good!
I only hope the enthusiasm shines through.
I don’t particularly care about external references. I’ve studied enough statistics to understand how easily it can be manipulated or misunderstood (mostly this).
It’s so easy to sway an argument when you rely on the published works of others or selectively add empirical studies that back up your point. For what I was writing, I didn’t think it was necessary.
I just wanted to stir up questions and advocate critical thinking. Sometimes I would offer an alternative viewpoint, “just because”.
It Was An Accident
I have over 300 drafts that cover some of my opinions and insights. There is no shortage of ideas to work with here, but not every idea is worth talking about.
I was reflecting on my experiences for life lessons and seeking to explore reasons for the way I felt. I questioned what it meant to be successful, happy and all the rest. I wanted to document what I discovered but also figure out useful next steps for my life.
And that’s when I realised that I was accidentally journaling.
I was looking to share things in my life that could potentially help others, and I accidentally ended up helping myself.
I know some writers hate it when others say they write as a form of therapy. But I rather like that. I enjoy reading the incomplete thoughts and ramblings of others. And for the most part, I would gladly be a fly on the wall on someone else’s therapy session. I find it fascinating. Why else is Invisible Illness so popular?
Even if there is no added value in terms of how someone tackles the problem, the fact that others have similar problems gives me some consolation that I am not alone.
Truths and Self-Discovery
I wanted to write about what I considered being useful and what I believed to be true.
The act of writing out my “truths” has made me appreciate that I need to be more rigorous with my thinking.
Writing highlights the flaws and gaps in my thinking that I didn’t know were there. There were hidden biases that I didn’t see and sides of the argument that I brushed off a little too easily.
You don’t really understand something clearly until you can write about it in a clear, succinct way.
Many of the drafts I have written are over 1000 words. Some are fully finished articles that I hesitate to publish. It’s not because I am afraid of expressing my opinion, but I fear they are flawed. I never want to share self help advice that could do more harm than good.
And you know what? The process of questioning my writing and the usefulness of it usually makes me moderate my opinions. Instead of writing about the single most important thing that will change your life, I talk about experimentation and trying a different approach. I talk about focusing on the dream journey instead of the dream outcome.
One of my “truths” is that I believe the answer is usually somewhere in the middle. It’s not daring or sexy in any way but it’s mostly true.
Sure, sometimes it’s worth taking an argument to the extreme, but that rarely represents reality. The need to hear the other side of the debate makes my views more rigorous.
I have become a more balanced and content person since I started writing.
Anyway, I would like to thank you for making this far. I hope you will continue to read and question my viewpoints. I really appreciate your support.
Oh! Before I forget, if there’s anything I’ve learned recently, it’s that readers enjoy a good takeaway.
So I’ll wrap it up with a short summary of the benefits I experienced through accidental journaling:
- I’ve been more centred and balanced since I started writing.
- I’ve become more grateful and content.
- I am more aware of why I feel certain emotions when they happen.
- Writing out my problems has made me realise how small or easy to tackle they are individually. This helps enormously in preventing disaster spirals.
- I have started to see more flaws and biases in my thinking where I didn’t before.
- I have learned to communicate in a more clear and concise manner. (Can you imagine what I was like before?)
And yes, I still want to make money. A lot of it. I haven’t forgotten that.
So here’s a question for you, have you had a similar experience with writing?
Is there something else that you have picked up for a particular reason only to continue for another?
Let me know in the comments.
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