Writing Habits and Why We Should All Write
A daily writing habit gives you regular time to sweep your mind for forgotten tasks and ideas that have been fermenting. It allows you to take the unordered thoughts and turn them into ordered plans, gifting you a sense of achievement without much effort. Writing each day also gives you time to think and reflect on your priorities and develop a clearer plan. Often discontentment, disillusionment and unhappiness come from forgetting why we’re doing something. Writing down your thoughts keeps your purpose at the forefront of your mind and keeps you away from life being a series of menial, mindless actions. Writing can also help you feel prepared and protected by first articulating thoughts on the page before they are spoken.
Here are my top 10 reasons you should write.
- Writing is an Essential Communication Skill – If you don’t write, you probably find it more difficult to communicate verbally.
- Helps You Think Through Problems- And you can do this alone and anytime.
- You’re More Likely to Achieve Written Goals- According to research from the Dominican University in California, “You are 42 per cent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down.”
- Journaling Benefits Mental Health- you can create a ritual around this time for yourself.
- Supports accountability- Writing your goals down not only forces you to get clear on what, exactly, it is that you want to accomplish, but doing so plays a part in motivating you to complete the tasks necessary for your success.
- Gets Your To-Do List Out of Your Head – A good first step to actually getting things done.
- Writing Can Help Form Bonds with Others
- Writing Makes You a Better Reader
- Writing is Fun- Writing can be fun in lots of different ways: thinking of the right way to phrase a sentence, for example, or coming up with a clever metaphor.
- No One Else Can Write Like You
Number 9 & 10 are my favourites. Like finding your own path, writing your own way helps you become the expert of you and communicates that outward. How can you write to be seen? Even if you are the only one who ever reads what you write, you will see yourself in a new way and that can be fun and affirming.
Written Affirmations
Featured in The Stylist, Sally Cheung, a senior designer at jewellery brand Astrid and Miyu said this about her written affirmation cards,
“I got into affirmations during lockdown and have become really passionate about it. Having these quick little statements that can help boost your self-confidence and self-esteem has been really beneficial.”
Sally writes her own personal affirmations that relate directly to the goals she wants to achieve: “I’ve seen a noticeable change in my behaviour and the way I approach life since doing it. It helps me reframe any negative mindsets and be more open to positive opportunities and experiences.”
Written affirmations are most effective when;
- They are in the present tense. For example, don’t write I want to be powerful, write, I am powerful.
- Keep them short and positive.
- Be realistically aspirational.
- Be bold and say them out loud and ideally in front of a mirror. It feels ridiculous but effective.
- Consistency- Practising affirmations consistently is crucial to making them improve your mindset.
- Choose one negative thought you have about yourself and write down the positive opposite that counteracts that belief.
Even if you feel silly saying your affirmations at first, keep going. There’s no harm in being positive and taking a few moments out of each day to encourage and celebrate the most important person in your life — you!
Share your words
A regular writing practice can help to distil and crystallise thoughts on many topics. Being able to find a voice that represents your values and articulating them through sharing can liberate your writing voice. Plus the fear of sharing becomes less of a big deal the more you do it. Writing helps you to look in while also looking out. In many ways, the work of looking inward supports how you show up in all areas of your life. If you do share your work, you will most likely connect with others and that shared experience is deeply human. Your writing isn’t just words, it takes a life of its own and the more people who read it, the more it lives.
“It has never been easy for me to understand why people work so hard to create something beautiful, but then refuse to share it with anyone, for fear of criticism.”
Thanks for reading, if you would like to have a guest blog to share your writing, we would love to support that. As always, please feel invited to get in touch.
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