I read this wonderful article on Writing Your Way to Happiness in The New York Times blog and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Here is a little background before you read the article.
I always believe in Abstract thoughts and Concrete words.
We have so many thoughts running in our minds that often, we find it difficult to focus on a specific task or to find a solution after some analysis.
Assume that you have 10 tabs of a browser opened. In one of those tabs you try to download a video, and in another tab you try to call someone through Skype. The other tabs are doing some trivial work. You realize that things are awfully slow and that you need some dedicated bandwidth for the most important issue at hand. You prioritize and close other tabs that might not necessarily be required at that point. You always have the option of coming back to it later. And voila, your work goes on smooth.
Do you think the human mind can operate in a similar way? Not at all!
We have so many thoughts (tabs) going on and the more we try to forget something to focus on something else, the more conspicuous it becomes. If I ask you to think of an elephant for a minute and then tell you not to think of the elephant, guess what you would be thinking of? 😉 (Yeah, I borrowed this from Inception).
When our mind is free, we can think a lot. That’s great. But most of the time when we have many things to attend to and when we still need to think about something important, we do not have the option of shutting down other thoughts. (How we wish there was such an option!). That’s when the ‘Concrete Words’ comes into picture.
When you give your thoughts a certain shape, it becomes easy for you to make more sense of it. When you speak about it or write about it (a much better option), you can clearly see what’s in front of you and focus on that.
This article (Writing Your Way to Happiness), justifies how writing can benefit you, at a more personal level. Read on.
As the Mind Wanders... 
Totally totally agree Ashwini 🙂
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Interesting write up. Processing of several thoughts goes on simultaneously at a conscious or sub conscious level, but then we need to push aside many thoughts in order to focus better on things at hand.
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We stray away, or mind does that. I believe in writing things on a note pad. It helps. Will read the article.
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Very true, writing is helping me put my thoughts together…it's going to go a long way with all of us.
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Interesting
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Writing is Meditation? 🙂
Destination Infinity
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When I write, I close away all other tabs. I free wrote and let the thoughts flow. It is only later that I edit and reformat. Writing is enriching and cathartic.
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Such clean and clear writing, Ashwini.
Your post was such a pleasant read. 🙂 Now let me to check out the NYT post.
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I nevr edit or format my posts, they are always written without any thought for perfection .because they are my feelings..but my mind is always over working..dont know how to sort it out:)
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I am going to point to this blog post, and the NYT article whenever a friend tells me blogging is lame.
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Many times, writing things down will calm our agitated mind.
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Nice 🙂 Hope you read the article.
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True. Sometimes multi-tasking takes away our concentration and I find myself isolating the thoughts to ensure they dont get muddled up.
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I do that too. I write down what I want to, and then bring it all together. Dont miss the article, it is very interesting to read.
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And those who've realized what wonders it can do, are trying to explore more and more into it 🙂 And yes, a long way indeed 🙂
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Thanks!
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You can say that. If it helps me to stop thinking of everything an focus on a single post, yes 🙂
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I need that kind of concentration too. I even stop listening to music or doing anything in the background!
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Thank you 🙂 Glad you liked it. Please do read the article, you'll definitely enjoy it 🙂
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Well said. And I'm sure many of us face the problem of over-working 🙂
I edit my posts just to see if something makes sense when I read it a second time 🙂
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Ah! Dont even bother convincing such people. Just leave it, or you could write a post about it 😉
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Yes, specially the pros and cons list which I always make 🙂
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I did 🙂 and I enjoyed it too 🙂
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So true – we can discipline the mind if we really try… 😉
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Well, if the findings in the article are true , it really is not a surprise. From a personal experience point, I always felt a lot of relief and could bust stress when I write. I guess I agree with you in toto, that writing , does help in many a way.
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Yes, even I agree with this view point. But having a multi tasking mind and also concentrating on one subject too is very interesting, it gives its own inputs to what we trying to concentrate on.
I remember, how my daughter used to watch MTV and study simultaneously for her exams , and you would be surprised at the high percentage she got.
So I don't think there can be a set rule to keep the mind shut from thoughts that would be natural in it to occur. However, if it helps some people then well and good.
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Glad to know that you enjoyed 🙂
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That's all it takes 🙂
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Nice to know that many people feel the same way. Just letting the thoughts out of our minds does prove helpful.
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I'm always in awe of those who can multi-task. As you mentioned, I know a lot of people who can listen to music/watch TV and still do their work with perfection. However I'm not as lucky as them, I need to shut out all distractions and then carry on with my work (which I can do with considerable ease – shutting out other thoughts). But yes, what yo u said is true, to each his own. There are not set rules.
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Clean and clear always, Ashwini:) A delightful read!
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Thank you Sir 🙂
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