I have always been a writer. The pen has always been my friend.
I write when I am sad.
I write when I am mad.
(This is starting to sound like a Dr. Seuss post…)
I write for pleasure.
I write for work.
(There, that fixed that Dr. Seuss thing)
Some people process and organize their thoughts through dialogue. I know of a few people who, when I stop by and ask how things are going, launch into a long and complicated discussion related to something they are trying to work through. Sometimes I end up leaning against a doorframe, of planting myself in a chair and just let them go. I’m a decent listener….leftover from being in the hairdressing field long ago.
Other people sort through their thoughts by putting them into letters and words and sentences and paragraphs and pages….on the screen or on paper.
I fall into the latter category. Writing helps me organize and articulate.
I also am sometimes too willing to put words to text and share them. I typically know that what I write may come back to haunt me, and so I usually am accountable to whatever I do write and acknowledge that I bear responsibility for those words because there is evidence of them.
And I am generally ok with that, because by the time I’ve written them down I at least have put form to whatever it is that I feel the need to articulate clearly, more clearly than I often can in some circumstances if forced to speak my often chaotic thoughts. Seeing the thoughts on paper is safer than on the screen because it puts a layer between that “send” button though. Sometimes it doesn’t stop me though.
But here’s another thing about words written down.
There is an old business axiom that says “If it isn’t written down, it doesn’t exist”. The intent is that there is no evidence that can be used to refer back to; our memories are fallible and spoken words lead to plausible deniability, misrepresentation, inconsistent communication. There is still grey space where black and white might be necessary.
When there is an important or impactful decision, I am often unwilling to accept it until it is formally written and shared.
