[Unstructured] On Writing
17 Jul 2021Why I plan to establish a writing habit
~ Vivaldi, Four Seasons: Summer
I strongly believe that writing is a crucial skill in order to become an individual who wishes to make a meaningful positive impact. As I have aforementioned in ‘Motivations Behind Typed’, language is basically an agreement of expression that people utilize in order to communicate and share ideas. Yes, ideas. Human brain is filled with brilliant ideas that usually fades if not recorded in tangible form. These ideas are a culmination of thoughts, experiences, and beliefs - which are all uniquely collected by each individual. Hence these ideas are worth preserving in some form, and I strongly believe that constantly evaluating the value of these ideas is necessary in order to salvage ideas that may not have been executed before. As a side note, yes there potentially are ideas that have been thought of multiple times by different people. However it’s not a matter of the frequency of ideas that came by people’s minds. It’s a matter of the fundamental value of these ideas, and whether people took the initiative (energy and time) to reflect upon these ideas and acted upon it. Human development, innovation, progress - an idea is where all of these grand schemes begin. To not lose any potential ideas that are worth exploring, I wish to establish a writing habit.
Another pro of writing is the opportunity to look into my own thoughts. It’s quite different from orally expressing thoughts. Sound is transient, writing is not. No wonder many of the posts out there regarding writing habits have a common message of ‘don’t edit’. Unlike forms of writing that people edit continuously (usually for the purpose of communicating efficiently with others), writing like these are more free form - a true reflection of one’s thoughts.
~ Vivaldi, Four Seasons: Autumn
Thinking about it now, the whole process of ‘free writing’ is more cathartic and meditation-like than I thought. A pure moment to truly look deep into what I am thinking, how I think, and primarily how I express these thoughts. As a person who strongly believes that methods of expressions are as important as the ability to formulate brilliant ideas, it’s quite crucial for me to see and reflect how I convey these ideas. So far it has been surprisingly easy to maintain focus - my ability to concentrate seems to have degraded ever since my consumption of media increased - and I am hoping this level of high-intensity, laser-sharp focus is transferable to other activities. Ever since I was young, I had the habit of talking about random topics and ideas by myself - topics like leadership, science, philosophy, etc. This habit continues until today, and it always has been a good opportunity for me to hear myself and to express ideas that were constantly formed by establishing meaningful connections between all of the information that I took on - ideas. Now I plan to transfer them into written words as it will provide an opportunity for me to dissect it even further and know more about myself, my thoughts, beliefs, ideas, and more. Writing for the purpose of self-inspection.
Final reason is to push limitations. Literally this third point has been forced as I still have 200 more words to fill. But this. This is the beauty of it. When I am orally expressing ideas, I can blabber my way into any directions I want - at times, without me knowing where I am going. But with writing, I literally can see where I am going with this idea. I truly believe there is subtle beauty to certain forms of forced restrain (i.e. limited freedom - ability to choose, limited resource - time, energy, food, money).
~ Vivaldi, Four Seasons: Winter
These restrains force the human brain to step out of its comfort levels and push it to explore realms that have not been touched before. And in that process, gems are found. By forcing myself to write a specific amount of writing - whether I find this cap too much or too little - I am able to see what my brain is capable of. Although I am unsure which topics to cover throughout this process, I am very excited of what’s to come. Art, technology, humanity, history, philosophy, psychology - these are some of the many topics I wish to cover.
Establishing a writing habit will not only help me become an effective communicator but a better thinker.