Five Lessons From Eighty-Two Weeks Of Writing

Here are five things I learned from an 82-week personal writing experiment:

ONE - It helped me activate my curiosity engine.

Curiosity is the ultimate fuel source and flow state enabler. If my engine is activated, nothing seems like work. 

TWO - It acknowledged my ego and how it holds me back.

Ego is an engrained biological element, not a manufacturer’s defect. Becoming aware of its presence offers a way to control the effects and limit their impact. 

THREE - It revealed shortcuts for decision-making.

Time is an invented construct to organize the world and coordinate actions within it. It was also a valuable resource that I continually gave away. Without understanding what was important, I prioritized the urgent. One outcome was a matrix that helps me safeguard and direct my energy in meaningful ways.

FOUR - It showed me how to capture, connect and elevate ideas.

I journaled off and on over the years, but I never did anything with the information that was captured on the page. Journaling is powerful on its own, but when you can break down pieces of your writing into assets, they can be combined to generate game changing insights.

FIVE - It showed me how vulnerability can activate critical thinking.

While it can be challenging just to write for yourself, sharing what you write can be a frightening experience. The process of sharing an integrated output generated from my journaling inputs publicly unlocked an elevated level of critical thinking.