Why Write: Learnings from the first 50 days

When the idea to be a part of a writing workshop at work was proposed, I was both excited and a little puzzled. I struggled not only to understand the connection with my day job, but also against some hidden prejudices — for eg, I looked at those who wrote blogs at work as a bit pretentious (I felt they wrote to project a certain image as opposed to being genuinely passionate about the topic / skill).

Now at the halfway point of our post workshop 100 day writing challenge, I’ve pleasantly had to change my mind on quite a few things.

1. The Well is Deep : “You know more than you think you know”. Initially the fear was that I’d run out of things to write about. This is true if the ideas only remain in my head, but the moment I put it out there, the mind is freed to move on to a new topic. It’s like lifting weights — the more you lift, the more you build up capacity to lift even bigger. There is no shortcut, you need to pay the man.
2. Strengthening The Connect : I began sharing my writing with a few close relatives. This triggered some interesting conversations as well as support / feedback (very welcome if you plan to write for 100 days). Surprisingly even those who knew me the most were still hearing some of my perspectives for the first time. This was not planned, but like most good things in life, it just happened.
3. A New Understanding : The joy of writing as a group is that there are so many interesting posts being shared regularly. Most of the writers surprised me with their depth of understanding and their ability to articulate it through anecdotes, poetry, etc. None of them consider themselves to be great writers in any sense, but their writings reveal a side of them which I would otherwise not had the privilege of knowing. Their writing inspires me, gives me new perspectives — things which would have gone unsaid had we not chosen to give voice to out thoughts.

Here’s to the next 50 days!