A few years ago, I suffered from severe burnout.
Looking back, I think several events contributed to the feeling of being burnt out. One was a new job that I had taken on, and the second was a health scare that resulted in my having to undergo major surgery. It was the catalyst that made me rethink how I was living life.
I started experimenting with self-coaching to overcome the challenges I was facing in my career. It was through this process that I discovered the importance of setting boundaries at work and also exploring hobbies and passion projects outside of my professional environment to improve my overall well-being. I began to explore many passion projects, but I realized writing has always been a pursuit I am deeply passionate about, especially writing online.
Rediscovering My Passion For Writing Online.
I started blogging in 2008, sharing thoughts and reviews on books I read.
Derek Sivers once wrote, "The coolest people I meet are the ones who find me through something I've written", and that's what I loved when I first started blogging; connecting with people and learning from others through my writing. The process of writing, sharing and connecting with others brought a lot of joy in my life in the past, and it was something that I have always wanted to pursue but was never able to commit to consistently. So the past year, I experimented with writing online again, and through the experimentation, I rediscovered my passion for writing.
My love for writing, however, is not the only motivating factor for why I am pursuing writing as a passion project.
It is also motivated by the following:
3 Reasons Why I Am Pursuing Writing Online Again.
#1: Strengthening an underrated skill.
David Perell says that "writing online is a superpower," and I agree.
Writing is an underrated skill that we use daily. Whether in the form of an email, a song or a book, we all write. Writing online can help strengthen writing skills and improve clarity in thinking and learning.
It's a superpower that can help us to communicate effectively, strengthen a resume and build an online presence that will allow us to connect and learn from others.
#2: A creative outlet for expressing thoughts and sharing learnings.
In Design Your New Work Life, the authors found that living more creatively often pops up when they go through the Workview and Lifeview exercises.
Similarly, when I evaluated the happiest moments throughout my career, I found that I was most engaged when working in a creative environment. Working with creative people and projects made the job more exciting and joyful. I see writing as a form of creative expression that can help fill the gap.
I am also exploring writing to engage and learn from others.
#3: Finding meaning by helping my peers.
I have spoken to many of my peers and found that the challenges I've experienced are not uncommon.
Many professionals like myself feel stuck, overwhelmed, and lost with the fast pace nature and demands of the modern workplace. So I decided to use my passion for writing as a platform to share the knowledge gained from my coaching certifications and the lessons I've learned to coach myself out of these challenges. I hope that sharing the tools and resources I've experimented with can help others overcome their own career roadblocks.
Writing is my way of creating a positive impact by helping others facing similar problems.
