#27 - Lessons from half a year of weekly writing

NUMBER 27. I have crossed the halfway point of publishing some form of written content each week for 26 weeks (mostly, with exception to last week). Looking back at the past 26 weeks, here are my top 3 takeaways from this journey thus far.

There is joy in imperfection

Of the 26 pieces of work that have been published thus far, I can safely say that at least 75% of them were published with me thinking "Urghh...this could be so much better" as I click the post button. Nonetheless, I found myself strangely increasingly liberated as the weeks progressed. What initially started with me being super conscious of what I was posting that week and how it was being received, evolved into focusing more on what I really wanted to write and share with the universe. My initial question of "What will someone like to read this week?" eventually shifted to "What do I want to write this week?". My paralysis from the pursuit of flawlessness and trying to garner some kind of response to my work, evolved into allowing my work to be an act of courage and vulnerability, which created greater joy for me in the process.

The pursuit for consistency overcomes inspiration

To say that each week of writing was a painless process is of course a lie. There were weeks that I felt uninspired and struggled to think of a topic. However, the pursuit for consistency, and holding myself accountable to my goal, led to creative ways for me to think of where and how to start. "#9 - A love letter to the past" is one example. Instead of thinking of a topic to write around which I was struggling with for the whole week, I decided to shift my approach and find a picture that would spark something emotionally within me. That image of the playground from my childhood in Singapore brought back some really strong core memories, and #9 was written within 5 minutes. The words just flowed with ease, probably cause the heart had something to convey, urgently.

Deeper self-reflection leads to greater self discoveries

Writing each week forced me to think deeply about a topic or an experience I had. It created and protected space and time for me to actually pause in my life, and to really reflect about how I felt about something, and put those feelings into words. Through this process, I found myself learning new things about myself, and giving myself some really timely reminders as I moved through life. It allowed me to explore my thoughts in a meaningful way, and at the same time, share these insights with those around me.

For the past 26 weeks, what has given me the most joy was when I met folks who said that the content I shared really resonated with them, or who messaged me privately on LinkedIn and wanted to have a more active discussion around something I wrote. For those of you who have engaged in the content in any way or form, thank you for accepting my invite to witness my growth as an artist and writer, to partake in receiving my thoughts each week and share my human experiences. I am excited to continue this journey for the next 26 weeks and to learn even more from the process of it all.

*For those of you who are interested, here are the top 5 pieces that garnered the most attention/reactions:

1. #1 - Hello World
2. #12 - What 10 years in America has taught me
3. #8 - 5, 6, 7, 8
4. #10 - Unstuck-ing
5. #2 - A lesson on inclusion by a 5 year old