Why You Should Write About Yourself
I spent over a week dreading writing an “about me” story. It is currently my best performing story on medium. But I remember feeling so nervous about writing it. Writing about myself was something I never planned to do. It was because I had always struggled to open up about myself.
There has always been something stopping me from voicing my story to the world. Every Friday at school, we would often have a show and tell week. Show and tell was created for us children to show something to the class and tell a story about ourselves.
I was the only child every week who decided not to take part. I remember my mother asking me why I did not tell her about the show and tell Friday’s. And my response was simple. I did not want to speak about myself.
Two fears have always held me back from partaking in writing or speaking about myself. The first being not being to add value to those listening. In “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. There is a section that highlights our need to feel important.
I always saw speaking about myself as something that would make others feel less important. Also, I did not think people particularly cared about my stories in the first place. The reason being that my stories never seemed to compare to some of my counterparts.
The second was more personal. Writing about myself meant I had to accept some of the flaws I had been hiding away for a long time. Many of my deepest insecurities that made me vulnerable would be out in the open for everyone to see. It was like going out to war with no armour.
However, after writing my “About Me” story, I received so many kind words and good feedback. I never thought that a short article about a small part of my story would impact so many. I realised that despite my difficulties in writing about myself, there was some value in it.
Ever since then, I have written a few more articles about my personal story, and it feels great. I have finally found the courage to overcome my vulnerability and turn it into strength on a blank page.
Here are four things I have learned on my short journey of writing about myself. there is much value in it, and I hope you take the courage to do the same.
You Learn How to Tell Your Story
We go through most of our early years being told not to speak about ourselves. It is seen as rude and a bit self-absorbing. We all had that annoying child in school who would not shut up about themselves. They could spend hours talking about what they did, their good grades and how they were the best.
These kids were disliked by everyone else. So, we learnt to blend in with everyone else and not stick out like a sore thumb. It was much easier to do this, but unfortunately, we sacrifice our individuality in doing so.
We start learning what people like to hear and how they like to hear it. To become favoured by others, we tone down on our own stories and character. This is why when we hit the age to start thinking of applying for a job, we need to learn how to speak about ourselves.
Because we are not used to doing it, we do not know how to sell our stories. Even worse, we do not know how to engage others with our personal experiences.
In “This is Marketing” by Seth Godin, he highlights that storytelling is the main way we communicate with one another. And learning to tell your story is the way we effectively market ourselves to the world.
When you sit down and start with a blank page, you are in control of how you tell your story. There is no one listening but you, and this is where you can begin developing the story of yourself.
I have found that many of my personal stories are not as simple as I made them out to be. There are many twists and turns. And they can all shown to make a story that is both engaging and connects others with you.
You Learn to Love Yourself
As I wrote stories about myself, I felt detached from the whole thing. It almost felt like I was writing about someone else. The feeling of detachment came about because of my embarrassment and fear.
However, there comes a time in every writer’s process when they have to go back and edit. And this is where the story comes alive. As I read my personal stories out loud my views of myself change.
We are often hard on ourselves because we only see our stories from our perspective. But, as an editor, you are now seeing your story from the readers perspective. You no longer care about what you think about the story on the page. It is all about how the reader feels and what they experience whilst reading it.
Through this process, you begin to realise that you are strong and brave. As you read your challenging or fun stories, you begin to love the person you are reading about. Your stories appear vibrant and meaningful when you read them from another perspective.
I find myself smiling at the stories I write about myself, despite them being good or bad. For the bad stories, I can remember how it felt to be in the situation. And even though it felt bad then, I can look back and say I made it through because I am writing about it now.
And for the good stories, I grow in appreciation for the joyous moments in my life. I realise how fortunate I am to have gone through some of those experiences and share them with others.
As you view your own stories as an outside reader, you can experience them in a new way. And I have often found that this experience has allowed me to grow in appreciation and love for myself.
You Learn You Can Add Value to Others
Time and time again, I have found myself lost in thinking about how to add value to my readers. The most obvious way always seems to be click-bait articles. Stuff like, “How to Retire at 30” or “How to Manage Your Time Better”.
At the very beginning of my writing career on my blog, I found myself repeatedly trying to write “How to” guides. It seemed to capture my audience, and I always got more reads on articles that way. The problem is we make the object of value separate from ourselves when we write in this way.
I am not saying that you should never write articles like that. If you have the expertise to do it, you definitely should. However, I often felt like the value was absent from myself when I wrote in this way too often.
Unfortunately, writing articles like this made me feel like my readers were in love with the gift rather than the giver. Feeling absent from the value you are adding to others is never a nice feeling. It is the same feeling that causes you to think you are being used by others.
But, after the responses from my “About Me” story, I learnt that I can add value without external tools. Instead, my own experiences can add value to others too.
And this leads me to my last point.
It Is What People Want to Hear
Ever since the rise of social media platforms, we have seen and heard more stories than ever. In the beginning, we were attracted to people who appeared to be living the best life ever. This is why Instagram models going on holiday or people making YouTube videos of their new car did well.
That type of content is still doing well today. But we are beginning to see another shift as people start gravitating towards more authentic content creators. We have realised that watching others live their best life is quite depressing.
So, the trend is now slowly shifting towards those who are open and vulnerable. These creators do not have the best day every day, and indeed they are like us. They are not super-rich, and they are not super attractive, but they do have a story.
There are so many stories out there about attaining success, wealth and fortune. Sometimes all people want to hear is how someone got through a bad day or how wonderful someone’s cat is.
Adding value to others does not always need to be as direct as equipping them with tips and tricks to tackle life. It can be as simple as expressing a story in your childhood that people can relate too.
This assures them that there are people in the world going through the same experiences they are. And this provides your readers with comfort.
People want to hear others experiences as much, if not, even more, than tips and tricks. It gives them a sense of belonging within your story because they can relate to it. And that is valuable because it lets your readers know they are not alone in the good and bad times of life.
Have the Courage to Write About Yourself
I have recently started a daily personal journal. Unfortunately, I do not always get round to it. But when I do, I express how my day was and some of the wins and losses I experienced.
It is proving to be hard to write about myself every day. But the reward is life-changing. As I read some of the things I wrote weeks ago, I feel encouraged to keep on writing.
If you can, this is a daily practice I would suggest you take on. Try writing a little something about yourself every day. It will:
- Improve your story-telling for your stories
- Help you appreciate yourself more
- Teach you that your stories can add value to others
And if you dare to post a story about yourself on the big wide web. The feedback should hopefully show you that it what people have been dying to hear.
