4 Lessons I Learned About Life From Writing

Beginning this school year I made it a goal to be more intentional about creating space to write everyday. In the past I usually wrote for this blog and other spaces late at night or whenever a random idea popped into my head. It made for a lot of inconsistency and it made for posting a lot of writing that really wasn’t very good (not that it’s that much better now either).

Now I wake up before the sun to spending time reading, praying, and then writing. Just about everyday. I thought I’d hate it, especially needing to go to bed so early, but being intentional about writing has taught me some invaluable lessons.

  1. Rarely do I start a day with an amazing idea of what to write about, but it’s still important to do the work. And in life I also rarely start a day knowing that something amazing is ahead, but I would miss out on a lot of amazing parts of life if I decided to clock out early. “Do the work” is a phrase coined most notably by Steven Pressfield in some of his most recent books and it’s one I’ve used to motivate myself a lot.
  2. The sunrise is better than the sunset. What I mean by this is that starting off the day focused on working hard and well gives me a bigger sense of purpose to life. Often the people who work the hardest are the ones who get up to start working before everyone else. Starting off the day focused on getting things done sets the tone for the rest of the day.
  3. Some days, I don’t have it. Whatever “it” is, some days I simply acquiesce to knowing that tomorrow will be better. In life, these are the days I do my best to make sure I avoid people (it’s what good introverts do).
  4. My best moments come in the midst of the mess. Whether it be an “aha” moment when I’m writing something that previously made no sense, or a breakthrough conversation with a friend, or a brief moment of God’s clear voice of leading, I never get to those moments without first making a conscious decision to enter into the fray. Too often we make the choice to stand on the sidelines and it’s often why we never experience the great parts of life.

For those of you who write, what have you learned about yourself or about life?