Writing was never my forte. It was my worst subject in high school and by the time I got to college, I still needed an English tutor. Still, there’s something that always pulled me towards writing. Perhaps it was my innate curiosity that often lead me to the local bookstores in the middle of the night, or maybe it was the need to express myself when I was lost and confused. Whatever the reason, writing serves a very important role in my life, and I hope by sharing these five points it can help you too.

Here are 5 ways writing can improve your life:

1. Improve Your Thinking 

   • Writing helps you think. A lot of my writing is an attempt to decipher thoughts in my mind. I may have a question that I can’t figure out the answer to or an idea I’d like to explore. By putting down words on a page I get to see what I have going on in my brain. Sometimes, writing leads me nowhere and I end up throwing everything in the trash, but other times, it leads to new discoveries that can turn into new business ideas or art concepts. Most importantly, placing my thoughts as words on a page helps me organize my thinking that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to do through just thinking alone.

2. Inspire yourself

   • A lot of writing is about giving advice. You might be surprised to find that most of the time, you’re just giving yourself advice. While that may seem a little odd, I’ve always found it inspiring to look over my old writing only to see how encouraging it could be. It’s empowering to know that you’re the one coming up with helpful tips and ideas to improve your life. In this way, writing can be a reminder of your abilities, your power, and when done well, it can do the same for others as well.

3. Help others

   • Writing is a pretty personal activity for me but I’ve always felt moved by people who write me back and telling me how helpful my words have been to their life. Your writing can help you, but it can help others too. It’s easy to feel like sharing your writing is weird. It might feel a little too self-involved, but your writing can change someone’s life. Writing and sharing your experiences can make people feel understood and less alone. It can provide answers to questions that others have been thinking about. It can provide a different perspective, and it can be inspirational. Chances are, if you’re writing about something that is real, it will resonate with people.

4. Relax + Eliminate Stress

   • A lot of thoughts get cluttered in my brain sometimes. Writing helps me get those thoughts out. Sometimes your writing doesn’t have to make sense. It could just be a brain dump where you write whatever comes to mind. This can be quite relaxing, particularly if you are feeling a little stressed or anxious. Some people keep a journal and do this first thing in the morning AKA “brain dump.” Who knows, among all the random words that come out onto the page, you might learn a thing or two about yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t have known.

5. Learn More About Yourself

   • Regardless of the mumbo jumbo that might come up when you start picking up the habit of writing, one of the greatest benefits to writing is what it can teach you about yourself. Writing helps me understand why certain thoughts exist. Maybe there’s something I need to learn. Maybe there’s someone I need to talk to. Maybe there’s something from my past that I need to confront. Writing is as much about self-discovery as it is about self-expression, and knowledge of the self is one of the greatest feats you can achieve in this life.

Action Step:

Set a time and a date in your calendar just for writing. This is your chance to see what comes to mind. A chance to peer into that topsy turvy brain of yours. A chance to challenge yourself, relax, and maybe learn a thing or two about yourself. You can write in the comfort of your home, or in one of your favorite cafes. Whatever you do, don’t judge yourself, just write and see what comes out.

by Jason Lam