Why Write? Why The Summit?

Hola and welcome to The Summit, my biweekly newsletter where I share my unfiltered thoughts on navigating the peaks and valleys of adulthood.

My mission is to question everything, grow every day and have fun along the way. The Summit’s mission is to invite you to do the same.

Tuesday Deep Dive: Why Write? Why 'The Summit'?

I hated writing in high school and English was easily my least favourite subject - by a mile. Math (the fun class) always had a right answer, but English, was up to iNtErPreTAtiOn 🙄. There was never a clear-cut solution, and I thought it was stupid, irrelevant and unnecessary (if you can’t tell, I really didn’t like English 🤣).

However, I like to think I have matured a little since then. If any of my English teachers read this, I apologise for my distaste and would like to report my full circle journey back to writing for 'The Summit'!

I would still say I don’t really like writing, but it is the same way I don’t like running. I never feel like doing it, but once I get going, I love it (plus I know it’s great for my health).

But what made me start writing?

Quick story time: One of my friends, a ‘linkedinfluencer’, started writing some banging articles for his LinkedIn. He told me he enjoyed writing because it allowed him to better articulate his ideas and produce work that he was proud of. As a result, he encouraged our group of mates to all start writing about anything and everything - with no target audience other than each other.

I think I can speak for all of us in saying that it felt pretty silly, awkward, and even stupid at first. But as we shared our pieces of writing with each other, I kind of got addicted. I thought it was so cool getting these short glimpses into each other’s minds as we learnt and shared interesting ideas.

With much of my free time, I began building a bank of these articles and sharing them with my friends. As my confidence grew, thanks to the encouragement from mis amigos, I decided to start ‘'The Summit'’ and slowly share it with family, friends, and now, anyone who is interested!

But recently, I have felt this spark for writing dimming in a way. Maybe I have gotten out everything on my mind (probably not), or maybe the novelty is wearing off, but I am pretty sure I have just lost track of my ‘why’ behind 'The Summit'. So, today, I want to unpack why I write, why you should write and set some goals to hold myself accountable 💪.

Why write?

1. It allows you to unpack your ideas.

You might have some really cool ideas or thoughts wizzing away in the back of your mind, but nothing will ever come of them unless you take the time to write down your ideas and flesh them out. There is no better way to articulate your thoughts.

2. It is a form of mindfulness/meditation.

When you are writing, all you can focus on are the words you are spitting out on the page; not what you are doing for dinner tonight, not thinking about the tiff you had yesterday and not worrying about external stressors.

3. It allows you to produce work that you are proud of.

If you really take some time and work hard towards stringing a nice set of words together, you will produce something you can be proud of. Just like the satisfaction you get when setting yourself a challenge and completing it, I feel the same way whenever I bang out another article I am proud of.

4. Ever heard of the power of journalling?

No matter how/where you want to write, the benefits of journalling have been widely researched and acknowledged to help with:

• Reducing anxiety

• Breaking away from a nonstop cycle of obsessive thinking and brooding

• Improving the awareness and perception of events

• Regulating emotions

• Encouraging awareness

• Boosting physical health

Why 'The Summit'?

As mentioned, I started writing due to my friends. But for anyone new following along, I would say that I also started 'The Summit' as a response to my quarter-life crisis (you can read more here). It was the first time I had found myself pondering some of life’s big questions: why am I here? What is my purpose? What am I trying to achieve? etc.

In an effort to answer some of these questions, I started reading, researching and having deeper conversations with friends and family; and I needed a place to record and synthesise my thoughts. Enter my bi-weekly newsletter, 'The Summit'.

If it’s not clear already, I started this newsletter for ME. To hold myself accountable and help navigate my quarter-life crisis.

But then a funny thing happened… people started reaching out to me and saying that pieces of my writing had really moved them. Some said they loved my perspectives, some said they were learning new things, and some just said that I had really helped them.

I am not trying to toot my own horn here; I don’t think I am some ground-breaking guru. However, the moment I realised I was having some positive impact on others (no matter how small 😆) I knew that I was no longer writing 'The Summit' just for me.

In short, I started 'The Summit' for me, but I am still writing for you!

_{So, if you’re over it, please tell me} 😅_.

How can you start writing?

After hearing all of the benefits, I assume you obviously want to start writing right away! Jokes, I totally understand having no interest (you could never have convinced me this time last year), however if you do want to give it a try, I would start here:

1. Daily journalling

I have spoken about this before briefly (Morning Routines), but obviously there is a tonne of research behind the powers of journalling. It can definitely feel a little overwhelming and awkward at first (seriously, I found it so uncomfy) but know that is totally normal.

There are endless ways to start journalling (you can read more here), but if I was to start over, I would pick five prompts and answer them before bed each day. Prompts like:

• Reflect on your day: What was your favourite part? What did you learn? What would you do differently?

• Express gratitude: List three things you are thankful for today.

• Set a goal for tomorrow: What do you want to accomplish or experience?

• Explore your emotions: How are you feeling right now? Why?

• Review your journal entries: Look back on previous entries and see if you’ve met your goals.

• Explore what’s on your mind: What are you worried about right now? Why (try to debunk it)?

2. Write short articles!

These could be about anything and everything. The audience could be you, your friends and family, or the whole world if you really want.

To give you an idea: the first article I ever wrote, was ‘Qantas Points’. Why? Because I was sick and tired of telling my friends the same story over and over again. Writing a detailed explanation of my learnings and experience allowed me to easily share my knowledge with others. Oh, and it made me realise that a small part of me enjoyed writing!

Are there any topics that you know lots about that you could share with your friends and family? I am sure they’d probably love to read it 🙂 (if not, I would)!

What’s next for ‘'The Summit'’?

When I first started, I set myself two goals:

• Post twice a week consistently for six months (52 articles).

• Reach 100 subscribers (this is a bad type of goal I know - pinning success on something outside my control - DW ABT IT)

I hit the subscribers (woohoo, thanks amigos!), and I am coming up on six months very soon! So, what now?

As I said earlier, I rarely feel like writing, but when I finally sit down and get in the groove, it feels therapeutic. I also feel like it keeps my head screwed on the right way and focussed on the right things (my personal mission).

Consequently, I am extending my goal to keep writing into the new year! If I miss a post, send for help because I am probably stranded on a mountain or making a nice meal for a grizzly.

However, beyond the new year, I am still not quite sure what’s next. Maybe I put a bow around this little project, or maybe I add voice overs to each post in the form of a podcast???

In all honesty, I am open to all ideas; so, if you have any, please send them through!

If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to share it with a friend who might also enjoy it; and if you’re the friend, feel free to subscribe here 🙃!

_{As always, if you have any feedback, you can respond to this email! I’d love to hear what you think :)}