#481 Short-term pain vs long-term gain

Stream Of Consciousness writing isn’t about what you write. It’s about the very fact that you’re writing.

Nobody cares about the words on the pages. Nobody will read them anyway. Neither should you.

This is not a novel. This is not a love song. This is not a poem. This is but an externalization of your mind’s chatter. Ugly, pretty, insightful, bland. It doesn’t matter.

There’s no great work. Nor is there any bad work. No high standards, no judgment. Nothing but what flows out of your mind.

So if none of it matters… why bother to write Stream of Consciousness?

Because it forces you to slow down.

Because it forces you to pay attention to what’s on your mind.

Because it forces you to listen to the way you talk to yourself.

Because it helps you get all the overwhelming thoughts and worries out of your system.

Because it helps you gain clarity.

And because sometimes, insights emerge. Not necessarily in the words on the page. But due to the fact that you’re writing the words on the page.

Stream Of Consciousness journaling is writing. Venting. Self-therapy. Problem-solving. Meditation. Goal-setting. Creative liberation. And anything else you want it to be.

Because you have all of that in you already – if only you’d re-learn to listen.

And listening to yourself, it turns out, is much easier when you put it all on the page.