The power of writing. How starting to write daily elevated my life.

The brain is an interesting organ. It is not a muscle, but it develops through practice and use, just like a muscle does. It is small, barely three pounds, yet it seats our intelligence, gives meaning to information from our senses, and controls our behavior. The brain is also highly plastic. Plasticity means its ability to change as it responds to internal and external stimuli by making changes to brain structure, function and connections! Amazing! 

Brain activity during writing

One external factor that provides a highly effective stimulus to brain development is writing. When we write, different areas of the brain are activated.

• Frontal lobe. Writing activates the planning function of the frontal lobe that allows us to choose details and describe them. 
•  Hippocampus. This part of the brain allows us to retrieve long term memories so we can write them. 
• Broca’s area. It gives us the ability to produce the words we want to write. 

These are just a few of the intricate parts of the brain that develop as we write. 

The benefits of writing

We write on a daily basis. We make shopping lists, type text messages or jot down reminders. At work, we may write memos, reports or presentations. Non professional writers or casual writers write for special reasons, while others write as their form of career as journalists, authors, columnists or teachers. Regardless of the form of writing we do, these questions remain. How does writing benefit our lives? How does it help the development of our mind and emotional wellbeing? 

Our brain has the potential to be analytical, creative, attentive, and good at planning, remembering and organizing information. Writing gives the brain the opportunity to sharpen these skills through practice and strengthening. It helps us reach our brain’s potential! Research has shown that writing about events from our memory boosts our ability to remember details. 

Writing has also been shown to pave the way to emotional healing of traumas and wounds from the past. Researchers Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Glaser in 1988 found that when people undergoing trauma (sickness, abuse, victims of crime)  participated in a daily 20-minute writing activity about their emotions and thoughts, they reported feeling more positive, and they had a decrease in negative feelings compared to before they started writing. 

When we include writing in our daily routine, we learn the importance of managing our time, lessening distractions and thereby improving our focus and attention. These then become our habits. We form the habit of attention that we can apply to areas of life where we set goals.

One of the many purposes of writing is to persuade ourselves or others to a certain point of view. As we practice, this skill gets better. We train ourselves to research and think of credible reasons, use specific language and tell persuasive stories to get our point across. 

Being able to write with credibility or creatively for engagement are skills that have monetary value. We can use our writing skills to build a career. Putting in the work to practice daily helps us gain knowledge about vocabulary, logical arrangement of ideas, or story telling. 

Writing is a form of self expression that allows us to reflect on our life circumstances. It helps us to process our insights and learn from them. When we are more self-aware, we can use our self-knowledge to make the necessary changes we want to make. 

Whatever your reasons for writing are, incorporating this activity in your daily habits will change your life for the better. You might be surprised with the good things writing daily will bring you, so why don’t you give it a try? 

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