The Writing Solution

It’s been a little over a year since I began self-publishing books and blogging weekly. I’ve really enjoyed reflecting and sharing about several different topics focused on three main themes. You guessed it, Living – Leading – Investing.

But why writing? Why choose to spend several hours each week on what many might consider an outdated means of communication and a very boring pastime?

First and foremost I naturally enjoy writing as a means of communication and am looking to improve. I was in my early 30s when I finally realized I’m not a “hard” science person. The written word provides more flexibility in communicating ideas than the numbers and theorems a more analytical person might use to make a point.

After a brief struggle through a technical, math intensive undergraduate degree many years ago, my more recent academic experiences have thankfully all been within the soft sciences.  Additionally, numerous professional military education courses over the years often required that I read and reflect in writing on a particular topic. I suppose over the years I was just conditioned to default to the written word as a primary and preferred means of communication.

I certainly never won any awards or achieved the highest marks during numerous academic endeavors, but I never really struggled either. Content in my works was always deemed stronger than grammar and structure. Blogging and self-publishing books is helping polish and develop my preferred method of communication.

Related to this first point but on a more personal level, I started writing as a hobby to help express myself better. On any given day I am a low performing extrovert or a high performing introvert according to Myers Briggs personality type test. A bit remarkable considering my former military profession often required me to be out front, sometimes with a very large audience!

While I’m able to do it successfully, public speaking and verbal communication in general just doesn’t come easy for me. Those that know me understand it takes a minute for me to warm up and open up. Even then, I am always a bit hesitant to share thoughts.

Furthermore, I am absolutely terrified of social media! I didn’t have a social media account until 2012 and that was only because it was a requirement for my job! I seldom, if ever, post personal details. Not sure exactly why, I’ll chalk it up as being a non-native to the digital world.

Sharing sometimes personal details in my books and blog helps bring me out of my shell.  I feel like if I can share more via written media, eventually my ability to communicate verbally will improve. If nothing else, posting blogs for the world to see improves my comfort level with the digital world and helps me understand how my children communicate!  

Another reason I took up writing is that I view these books and blog posts as long overdue personal journals. I’ve always admired folks who kept a journal. I never really was able to pick up the habit. There is no one (on earth) that keeps a record of our thoughts and experiences for us. So many great episodes through the years lost in time! Thankfully I am now at a stage in my life where I have the time to reflect on my experiences and bang away on a keyboard.

Looking back on Living-Leading-Investing and sharing those reflections via written media serves as a type of journal. My hope is this record will long outlive me and perhaps be of some interest or use to my descendants.  

Finally, I write books and blog with the hope that sharing my lessons learned, many the hard way, could help someone. I think I’ve lived a fairly interesting life. It’s been filled with some challenges and failures but also several successes.  If sharing something I’ve learned about investing, leading or life in general helps just one person, then I’d call this little hobby a success!     

I was fortunate on my journey to pick up training and education in counseling. A basic principle of good counseling is listening more than talking with the understanding that most people can work out their problems by talking through them. I think the talking solution as it is often called, applies equally to writing.

Simply put, the writing solution is not only an enjoyable hobby for me, it is therapy! As an added bonus, my prose could potentially help a reader. It’s been over a year and I’m still loving this new hobby. I hope my writing will continue to improve in content and quality. I truly appreciate constructive feedback via comments and amazon reviews!

Our family has entered some uncharted territory of late, the college application process. Tune in next week for my initial observations.

Check out my books on sale now at Amazon! Use the links in the about section below to follow on social media or subscribe for emails to receive updates on the latest weekly blog at www.normspivey.com!

The views, opinions and biases expressed in this blog are the authors and do not reflect those of the U.S. Army or Department of Defense.