The Underrated Benefits Of Writing
5 Reasons To Improve Your Writing
The power of the written word is underrated in popular discourse.
I soared through secondary school and university without understanding the power of the writing.
I wrote essays here and there for my class, but that was strictly to get my lecturers off my back, to be able to get the grade needed to pass my exams.
If anything, writing was a way to demonstrate my knowledge to the lecturers; this was a huge mistake
I’m by no means the outlier in these circumstances. Most of my friends I went to school with have not written anything beyond a post on Facebook. We wrote essays in school without understanding the importance of writing.
Nobody taught us the importance of what we were writing because the ones who were teaching us probably didn’t grasp its power.
Over the past few years I’ve taken writing seriously, I’ve learned some invaluable lessons I wish I knew in University.
As a University lecturer myself, I find it scandalous that I spent so many years in tertiary education without anyone making mention of the power of writing.
It’s no wonder that tertiary education is these days considered to be unnecessarily expensive; there’s a general perception that tertiary education does not equip students with practical life skills.
Whenever I get the opportunity, I emphasize to my students and whoever my be listening, the crucial importance of writing.
Writing Refines Your Thinking
Writing will help to formulate coherent and sophisticated ideas about specific topics.
This will in turn help you to think; and action based on thinking is infinitely superior to action based on sheer ignorance. And believe it or not, there isn’t much of coherent thinking out there.
Most of us ride on used ideas because it is easier. Thinking can be hard work . Well thought out actions produce competence, productivity, security and originality. All of which are in short supply.
Writing is the path to acquire these important attributes.
Writing improves your memory and helps you to think clearly. This is so because of the process of editing. When you write something down, your thoughts are there for you to see.
Through editing, you can pick up flaws in your thinking. You can delete those ideas or otherwise move the idea from one paragraph to another part of the page; until it makes sense. After juggling your thoughts around you’re left with original and good ideas. That’s a superpower.
You’ll Separate The Wheat From The Chaff
There’s this old cliche in academic circles; publish or perish. University scholars must publish to be promoted up the academic ladder. But this is not only limited to academicians. The internet has practically liberalized publishing. Anyone can publish anything and put it out there.
The result is a whole universe of ideology and misinformation. Ideology easily creeps into popular discourse; either through politicians or the media.
Popular opinions on difficult topics such as abortion, inequalities, justice are driven by ideas published by some obscure intellectual.
As for you, with your clear thinking, developed from writing, you’ll see through the cheap ideology and lazy thinking. You’ll be able to separate the bad ideas from the profound. You’ll be influenced by properly thought out profound ideas. You’ll spot cheap talk from a mile away and steer clear.
Writing Improves Your Communication Skills
Language is relatively new in our evolution as a species. As children, we’re better at picking up non verbal cues from our parents as a form of communication. As we grow and develop language, we loose most of our ability to pick up non-verbal communication.
However, because of the natural limitations of language, we often don’t say what we mean. It’s not rare that hear someone say “I can’t put what I want to say in words.”
It can be incredibly difficult communicate what you’re thinking. Writing is a perfect way to improve both verbal and written skills.
Effective communication puts you at a competitive advantage. Those with effective communication skills get what they want.
In careers such as medicine, law, academia or business, writing is crucial as a means to formulate and communicate difficult ideas.
Writing Preserves Culture
I got into an argument with a gentleman who belongs to the Jehovah’s witness congregation.
His wife lost a substantial amount of blood during childbirth. Both himself and the wife refused a blood transfusion. According to them, it was written in the Bible that getting a blood transfusion is a sin against God.
They were ready to face whatever consequences. Unfortunately, the young woman died. I’ve seen parents refuse blood transfusion for their babies, preferring them to die.
This post is not about the merits or demerits of religion; it just demonstrates how powerful the written word can be.
For good or bad, the written word is not to be underestimated.
Christianity is very young on the continent of Africa. Part of the reason Christianity easily displaced other religions in Africa is because the Christians came with a book, compiled over hundreds of years, and according to the hypothesis, that book is The Word of God.
Suddenly all (or most) gods worshiped in Africa were abandoned. Thanks to the written word.
Writing Clears Your Mind
At the most abstract level, our thoughts are organized verbally. Writing helps you to clear your mind by filtering away useless thoughts.
You will filter off cheap ideologies; leaving only well grounded mature thoughts. Your mental health will tremendously improve because you won’t be stressed by trivial thoughts. Your physical health will as well improve.
Final Thoughts
There was a time in human history when ideas were circumscribed to a particular group or tribe. It took long for ideas to move across the planet. Not anymore. In the twenty first century, ideas can be shared across the world by the click of a mouse; clarity of thought is not an option.
Either you will consume whatever comes your way and be trampled upon by the ideologues or develop an independent mind. Writing is your passport to clear thinking.
