What I've learnt from blogging and writing

I have learnt more about myself and explored other avenues of my skills and abilities through the various blogs I write. Besides this blog which shares more about blogging and developing the mind through mind-maps and other life-hacking type of tools, I have engaged readers in personal finance through fivecentstencents, talked about the way my life was changed through my experiences as a conscript in the Lion City as well as spinning off new blogs that have been a learning experience in blog monetisation and learning how to make some pocket money from the internet.

What have I learnt from my blogging and writing experiences?

Writing is cathartic
One of the benefits of writing your blog is the ability to express your feelings into the written word. Many of the experiences that shaped me was my experience serving in the Singapore Armed Forces. It was singularly the most life-changing experience because whilst I hated it, it shaped me to be less dependent on my parents to solve my own problems and also made me so aware of how deep my mother's love was. It was only a few years later when my junior college class mates told me about how she cried during my enlistment sending off ceremony, that I could see the depth of her feelings for her youngest son to finally take up arms for the country and to change to become a man.

Recently, my mother has also continued to be a bedrock for me to anchor my emotions as I faced personal challenges in my family. Her voice of reason and support helped me through the days when I thought it was all hopeless and meaningless. The personal upheaval that I am going through has made me aware of my priorities in life. I had been too focussed on money and being financially free but realise that all this means nothing if you have no peace in your heart.

Writing explores different facets of your life
My blogs made me realise that there were many hidden facets of me that were not sufficiently explored in my life before I started actively blogging. By simply writing about topics that I thought I knew nothing much, I realised that there were also a lot of perspectives I could share even though I may not be the subject matter expert in those areas. For instance, I am not a personal finance guru nor profess to be one. But my journey towards financial freedom and sharing my small victories also motivate others who are walking along the same path. I have also made some friends through the personal finance aggregator, thefinance.sg where the author's inclusion of my blog has allowed me to connect with other like-minded bloggers.

Writing clears the mind
I realise that in order to write a post that is readable, you have to be clear what you want to say in the first place. This is something that I also learnt as a toastmaster. Making speeches involves having something to say and then saying it to your audience that they "get it". It's the same with writing. In order for your readers to "get it", you need to be very clear about what you want to say. For you to be clear about what you say, sometimes, you need to write it down first to see if you yourself understand it. My posts made me realise when my mind has been muddled and confused. Where my thoughts do not make sense. By starting and editing a post, I start to develop a clearer picture of what I am trying to say to you.

Even as you are reading this post, has it occurred to you that there is a post inside of you that is waiting to be expressed? Do you not feel strongly about something and want to write it out?

Try writing today. You don't know what you're missing. ;-)