Most people regard writing as nothing more than a tool for communication. In fact, many of us hold an unpleasant opinion of writing based on the many hours spent doing it for school or work. However, most of this writing was probably about boring topics that made it easy to overlook the therapeutic and inspirational effects of putting your thoughts into words.
Writing Can Inspire Happiness
Happiness is something that everyone wants, but unfortunately, many find it to be elusive. Because of this, most people are willing to invest a lot of money and effort into achieving it. From this perspective, it might seem ridiculous for something as simple and commonplace as writing to be a powerful source of satisfaction and fulfillment, but it really can be!
The unfortunate reputation that writing often bears as being boring and laborious is likely a result of people writing about uninteresting topics and doing so only out of necessity. Granted, not everyone is destined to enjoy writing just as some people don’t enjoy playing sports, but you’ll never know what you might be missing out on unless you give it a fair chance. The key is to write about subjects that are related to your passions and values which means that you need to have some self awareness to fully enjoy the benefits.
My Uplifting Experience with Writing
Despite having done well on school writing assignments and having received numerous complements on my writing from coworkers, I considered it to be nothing more than a communication tool and never really gave it much thought. This changed dramatically after I started my blog.
Surprisingly, writing was one of the reasons why I didn’t want to start a blog. This was primarily because of how much work it can be, but I wanted to become more involved with the internet and thought it was worth a try. I’ve been writing about healthy and inspired living, which is one of my deepest passions, for almost a year now and am still amazed by the effects that it has on my mood and perspective.
As most bloggers know, it’s not a pleasant feeling when you’re running out of time to write the next post, are having trouble finding a topic to write about, are busy with other things, and simply don’t want to write. At times like this, writing can seem like a real drag, and on many occasions I’ve had to force myself to sit down and get to work. However, it never takes long before I’m absorbed in my thoughts, completely engaged, and oblivious to my surroundings. Hours pass as if they were minutes.
My most notable experiences with this have come when I was tired or in a bad mood. Writing is usually the last thing I want to do in such cases, but once I get started, it almost always makes me feel energized, invigorated, and pleasantly fulfilled. The effect has been so dramatic that if I hadn’t experienced it many times for myself, I wouldn’t believe it.
Extending the Natural High
I consider the uplifting and energizing feeling that I get from writing to be somewhat like a natural high and similar to the endorphin rush that many people seek through exercise. Depending on what you choose to do with your writing, there are several ways that you can leverage your work to maximize this effect.
If you’re passionate enough about something to sit down and write about it, there’s a good chance that you’ll also enjoy conversing about it. Once your thoughts are organized and formalized into a document, you can post your work to a blog, an article directory, or simply share it with friends. With minimal effort, you can inspire new and interesting conversation for days, weeks, and even years. People will be reading your material while you’re sleeping, eating, and tending to other aspects of your life. You never know when someone will show their appreciation for your wisdom or offer additional insight that you hadn’t considered, and when they do, you’ll likely find it to be rewarding.
Another great benefit of writing is that it forces you to process and organize your thoughts. This often leaves you with unanswered questions and new ideas, both of which can be very exciting to pursue. Not only does this keep you engaged, but it also helps to expand your knowledge.
Give it a Try!
If you’re not already an experienced writer, one of the easiest and most meaningful ways to embrace writing is to keep a journal. Doing so is therapeutic in the sense that it allows you to process your emotions, and in some cases, may even inspire a revelation or a solution to a problem. You can also write about procedures, stories, concepts, or ideas that you’d like to share or document for future use.
If you find writing to be a rewarding experience, you should consider starting a blog even if you have little interest in becoming a serious blogger. It’s an easy way to organize and share your writing and you never know where it may lead. You can even be up and running in just a few minutes at one of the free blogging sites such as WordPress.com or Blogger.com. What are you waiting for?
