Is This What I Know?
Writing As An Audit For Your Brain
I was going to publish another entirely different article this week that was something I conjured up yesterday. After careful consideration though I'm going to save it for another day. Not because I don't think the topic bears discussion but more so because it's honestly not at all what I've been thinking about this week. Rather than pull a tooth with each paragraph I've decided to share something that's a little more intuitive to what I'm actually working on on a daily basis as of late.
Many of you reading this will probably know that I have book coming out this November entitled Performance Longevity: Tuning Body and Mind for Performance Longevity. This book is based on the concepts I've collected over the course of my career thus far and have been teaching as part of the Navy SEAL Foundation's Warrior Fitness Program via Virginia High Performance.
The process of developing a curriculum that is taught publicly, an experience I've had multiple times previously in my career, is in and of itself an opportunity to look more deeply into my understanding of various topics in health and performance such as breath control for energy system manipulation in sports, stress management for tactical professionals, and return to play/duty for athletes and tactical professionals. While teaching in person offers an iterative real time feedback that cannot be replicated I have not yet experienced a deeper audit of my own thinking than publishing this book.
Writing and Research
I truly love writing. While I enjoy various creative endeavors for sure, writing is the bug that bites me hardest. Dare I say, I think I might need it. It's one thing to have thoughts and assertions floating around in your head. It's a whole other thing to put them down where you know that not only will people see it but it will live on for long after you're gone to be potentially enjoyed but also to be scrutinized. Writing itself is sort of like cleaning out your attic. You're not sure what exactly is up there until you start to start pulling boxes down. Putting words on a page is quite literally making the thoughts in your head into something tangible and real.
There are some lessons that come to mind that I've learned from writing thus far. First, don't write and edit at the same time. Writing is about getting things out. To stick with our attic analogy it's getting all of the boxes off the shelf and out of the closet and putting them on the floor so you can see exactly what it is you're working with. Second, you realize that you know more than you think about some things and less than you think about others. But you're not exactly sure which until you have to thoroughly explain it to a person you will never meet. No chances for second explanations or redos. Last, deep research into topics that I may not have had time nor impetus to dig up previously. Some of the things I've read during research for this book for example, have altered the way I think about entire subjects about which I speak and write about on a regular basis. Research not only helps you find gaps and assumptions in knowledge and thinking in unique ways that personal experience and dialogue cannot.
Editing and Revision
Finishing a manuscript is a breath of fresh air. You get the first run at this thing out of your system. Being a new author what I did not realize was that I was barely into the process. This is because when you are the only person who reads your stuff, you allow for biases and assumptions. There are gaps in your explanations and thoughts that no matter how well you might know a subject are only obvious to a person who is receiving them. Getting a chapter doused in red ink back is a lesson in humble pie but as Hemingway said, "The first draft is always shit."
The revision process I would dare say is even deeper than the writing process. Now there's a point of feedback that tells you if the things you think make sense to anybody else. Will you point of view, your arguments, your story stand up to the light of day? To that end if you feel that a piece of writing is worth saving from the cutting room floor can you buttress it in a way that is so well crafted that it's undeniable?
Writing something down is a good first step in the examination of our thinking but there's nothing like a reader's brain, especially one with an editorial eye, to force you to more carefully craft your communication skills.
Sharing
Publishing a book isn't just about writing it. It's also about getting people to read it. Yes, obviously I want to sell copies but more importantly, the point of writing is to have an effect on the reader. The first step to accomplishing that goal is for people to actually read what I've written.
I'm shit at marketing things but I do care about people. So this stage the question is, what problems do I see that my audience has that I am in a unique position to help them solve? And how an I explain those things in a way that is interesting and meaningful enough for people to not only understand, but want to learn more.
Sharing my work in this way has presented unique challenges for me, especially through social media. The internal friction that I feel with producing content for that medium is a sign that I need to pursue my effectiveness there further.
Audit Your Brain
Even if you never plan on publishing anything writing can be a wonderful exercise in examining your own thoughts and feelings. In my experience some things come out and I realize that those thoughts and feelings aren't really my own. They float around in there somewhere but on the next layer down, I don't actually feel like that. It's a story I've told myself. So then, I can tell a new one.
I'm a big fan of Julia Cameron's Morning Pages from her seminal work, The Artist's Way. The exercise is every morning write three pages. These pages should be in a physical notebook ,where you write by hand, in cursive. Grammar, spelling, and structure are not important. Just write. This exercise is not necessarily intended be a cathartic tool or a confidant. Though it can be. It's more about clearing out the junk that is in your brain. Cleaning out the attic. This book, and more specifically this exercise, was recommended to me for years before I bit. I wished I'd jumped on board sooner.
Whether it's writing an article or paper that others will read or just something for yourself, I can't recommend writing enough. Pull the boxes down from the attic, take a closer look at what's in them, and then decide what you want to keep and what you want to throw away.Â
It's easy to keep the boxes on the shelf in the attic and let them collect dust believing that everything we've kept over the years is just as valuable as it has always been. But writing it down and sharing it can be a fantastic way to audit what you think you know. At least that's been my experience so far.Â
Thanks for reading,
Rob
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