I decided (I don’t want to call it a New Year resolution) to write more this year. I decided to hone my writing skills, keep learning and experimenting, and share my stories.
Writing isn’t new to me. Being introverted, I have always found solace in reading and writing. Books were my constant growing up. Notepad was a companion I could talk to.
Over the years, I started many blogs, closed a few, and continue to maintain a couple. But writing was always something I did on the side, something I did for my soul.
It is time to take the next step, the leap of faith in writing. I want to be more out there. Build a followership, share more and more, and hopefully, in the process, become a published author.
When I think about alternate career options, writing for a living is number one on the list.
This also sent me down a rabbit hole. While thinking about what I want to achieve with my writing in the future, I also started thinking about how my life has improved because of my writing skills.
And I felt that was a story worth sharing.
1. An outlet to express myself
I don’t speak much. It takes me a lot of time to open up to somebody. Years even. I hate small talk and love deep conversations. But in a world that is designed for extroverts, it is seldom a reality.
Many a time, I can’t keep up with conversations because I am trying to put words together in the best sequence, and by the time I do, the conversation has moved on to a different topic.
So, I have never had a proper outlet to express myself. Until I started writing.
Writing has given me the gift of expressing myself unabashedly. Which has also helped me understand myself better.
2. Opened doors I didn’t know existed
A couple of years ago I got very interested in personal finance. I started consuming a lot of content in this space. But I found, there isn’t a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help newbies start their investment journey.
So I started writing about it. I started a blog series by the name ‘In Pursuit of Financial Freedom’ but I didn’t expect people to read it. I was doing it as documentation for my benefit.
But, people started reading it. And responding to my posts. I got messages that they found my posts easy to understand the complexity of the financial world. Many people even started investing for the first time after reading my posts.
And I found that extremely powerful.
I continued writing and sharing and a few months down the line, somebody from within my organization at a very senior level reached out to me. They said they loved my posts and they wanted me to conduct a Finance 101 session for their team.
And I did. And a few more sessions after that with different groups.
My writing transcended from the internet into the physical world. It opened doors I didn’t even know existed.
3. Satisfaction of knowing my words will outlive me
Every time I read a book, I feel the author is speaking to me from beyond the pages. Sometimes the author has passed away decades even centuries ago. And that is so powerful.
Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta is one of my favorite graphic novels (and movies too). One quote from the book says — “We are told to remember the idea, not the man because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can change the world.”
Humans want to be famous. They want to leave a legacy behind. I have never loved the spotlight. But I always wanted to be an author. I want to publish a bunch of books that are read 100s of years from now and blog posts that are relevant decades from now.
My writing skills have given me the satisfaction of knowing that my words will outlive me.
4. Recognition / Identity
This is in connection with point #2. Ever since I started writing my blog posts and sharing them with people, it has become part of my identity. When a third person introduces me to someone else, they inadvertently add that he is also a good writer.
And that just creates butterflies in my stomach.
Because that is what I want to be known as. A writer.
5. My Wife
Saved the best one for last. My wife is also my childhood neighbor and my first love. We grew up together, went to classes together, and played games together. But I never dared to open up to her or confess my love to her.
We moved to different cities but the love only grew. And that is when I started writing about my feelings in a diary. I did it for quite some time. And one day, I gathered some courage and mailed that diary to her.
She called me, choking up. She said that was the most beautiful thing she had ever read. And the rest, as they say, is history.
I am not saying that my writing skill was the only quality that helped me impress my wife. But it was a big one.
My wife says that she is the first fan of my writing (and probably the only one). Even now, almost 20 years after the diary incident, she asks me to write a letter or long text message as a gift on birthdays and anniversaries. And even today, she cries every time she reads anything I write for her.
So, in a sense, my writing skills have not just helped impress a girl who became my wife but they have also helped me maintain that impression 🙂
Here we are. This is how my life has improved because of my writing skills. I have not even touched the professional angle where my skills can be gold. If only this passion turned into a career path in the future, I would have found my Ikigai.
Why are you passionate about writing and how has it changed your life? Do share in the comments below. If you like what you read, consider subscribing to me on Medium so you receive an email every time I post something new.
