Write Every Day
I’m noticing a trend.
As I’ve been growing up, I would interact with social media and the internet casually. From MySpace (R.I.P.), to Facebook, Instagram, and everything in between, it’s been something that has been part of growing up. It’s fun, entertaining, and sort of my own personal digital scrapbook. I can look back at each post and remember how I felt during that time and where I was.
In a way, I’ve almost matured alongside the social side of the internet. As I learn more about myself, so does the internet and the people who make it a reality.
A big push nowadays is that if you want to stay relevant and at the front of the social race, you HAVE to post daily and consistently. Social media guru and marketing genius, Gary Vaynerchuk, is a huge advocate of posting 100 pieces of content EVERY DAY… WHAT?
I’m not sure if you realize that, but it’s a LOT.
Now, this actually does make things much better and entertaining. The algorithms on the internet nowadays definitely benefit those that consistently produce as well as those that post daily.
I’m not sure if you have even noticed this, but I haven’t written on this platform in almost a week. When I write here consistently, I find I can solidify my thoughts into statements and can express them more concisely and confidently in my every day life. I find this a huge benefit because it makes the REAL me a better person.
I am now a firm believer in the idea that you should write every single day. Marketing genius and blogging entity, Seth Godin, has one of the most successful blogs in the world. All you have to do is type in “seth” in google and his blog is the first thing to pop up! Go ahead, try it. I’ll wait…
…
See!? Crazy. Well, as professionals point to the fact that you should write and post online daily, I want to go back to the basics.
If you want to grow your self awareness, become more articulate, and teach yourself more topics, you need to write every day.
But here’s the kicker:
Don’t be scared to keep certain pieces of writing to yourself.
Regardless of what others say, it’s okay to not share certain things and keep it between you and a piece of paper. You don’t HAVE to post your whole life on social media. There are certain things that you should keep within the safety of you and protect it.
Although I have not written online in a while, I have been purposeful about writing in a physical journal for myself. There have been some HUGE growth moments from these entries, but that doesn’t mean everyone should know about it. Frankly, I just don’t want you (yes, you!) to know those things about me. They’re not “bad” and they’re not “secrets.” They’re just… me. And it’s strangely comforting to know that I’m the only one who will get to experience those thoughts.
As a friend of mine, Nic Beidel, once told me:
“Reading will make you broad, writing will make you exact.”
This is so true. So write. Feeling frustrated? Confused? Learned something new? Tired of taking notes but forgetting them? Write about it! It could be just one paragraph, just start writing and eventually you’ll find what you are looking for.
Earlier this week, I was at breakfast with a friend and we got started talking about some interactions in The Bible. One thing we landed on was Matthew 7:7 where it states:
“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.”
This means a lot of things and there’s a lot we can learn from reflecting on this passage. Our main takeaway from this discussion was the idea of “Seeking” when reading scriptures.
A lot of us, especially myself, can be guilty of “Bible Drills” during our time in scripture. Instead of coming to The Word with a clear question needing answered, we will just open up to a book, a verse, a page and just hope that “something speaks to us.” We read a verse and just talk about what it COULD mean.
“That’s not a quiet time, that’s just Bible Debate”
Oof that hurt.
What if we looked at The Bible differently.
Have you ever tried to put together a puzzle? I know, only “old” people do that. But what’s the first thing we do? We look at the big picture on the front of what the puzzle is supposed to look like. From there, we look for certain pieces to place in the necessary places.
Instead of saying “what am I gonna learn today,” what if we came with a question, and actually take time to look through the scriptures to find the answer?
I was struggling with feeling overwhelmed and discouraged about a myriad of situations last weekend. As I was reading through Luke, I just wasn’t getting what I needed. That is OK! I stepped back and started leafing through different books, trying to find which scenario would teach me something that I wasn’t catching. I finally landed on the book of Job and I KNEW that was where I needed to spend some time reading. I walked away from my time reading encouraged and with perspective.
Let’s do this more often! Let’s use The Bible as our “big picture” and let God point to what pieces need filling. Let’s not just assume every aspect of The Bible relates to your specific situation. Look for the answer! It’s in there, you just got to search for it.
Thanks for reading(:
