Writing It Down

Naturally, as a writer, I’ve always truly enjoyed the writing process for the reason of creative expression. But even more important to me is being able to write down the stuff that is bugging me. It’s of tremendous help when I can get it out of my head and figure out what to do with it. When I vent pent-up emotions and spew them out on the page, I’m able to get into a more logical frame of mind. I can problem solve better. It’s a form of self-talk that eventually turns my mind into a more positive direction.

Scientific research has proven that this kind of writing, called “expressive writing,” has positive effects on your mind and body.

Writing isn’t just for purging and problem solving; it’s also a great way to confront fears. I also find that writing down my goals helps me to plan and achieve them.

Interestingly, what I’ve found is that writing down a goal helps you to make it more real, while writing down a fear helps you to make it less real.

Why does it work that way?

When writing down a goal, you can begin to see it as real and possible rather than simply remaining inside your head as a thought, wish or dream.

There are three reasons for this:
1. Writing it down allows you to use three of your senses in the 3D world, seeing, hearing & touch. You see what you are writing, hear it in your head as you write the words, and use your hands while writing/typing them out. When you bring concepts from the abstract into tangible reality – from your thoughts into 3D – they become much more real. They become more than mere wishes.

2. By getting the goal out of your mind and onto the page, you’ll unclutter your mind. You are freed up to think next of creative ways to accomplish it.

3. Writing it down is like writing an appointment on your calendar – if you don’t do it, you will forget the commitment you made.

However, like I mentioned, when it comes to writing down a fear, quite the opposite will happen. That’s because once it’s there on the page in front of you, it holds a lot less power over you. Now it’s not just inside you. It’s outside you. What seemed before like a big monster debilitating your will or messing with your self-esteem turns out to be smaller when you write it down. Sometimes it will even appear to be silly when you read what you’ve written. Writing it down gives you a chance to consider it in a new context and will usually make it less insidious than when this fear is left to fester and “grow” inside you.

“Handwriting is connected to the movement of the heart.” ~Natalie Goldberg

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Angela Loëb helps people rediscover and use their gifts so they bring who they really are to what they do in life. http://about.me/angelarloeb __________________________________________________________