Writing ritual | Day 98 of 100
3min read
Writing on here has become a bit of a ritual for me now. The definition of a ritual is a fixed set of actions performed regularly. This sounds awfully similar to a previous topic I've talked about, a habit. The difference in my writing though is that it was a habit probably two months ago, but now it is a ritual. So what has changed?
Previously I had gone through the motions of writing every day, putting my faith in the fact that repeating the action enough times would help improve my skill in that action. The main goal of this blog being; to help me better articulate myself. But going through the motions with a long term goal in mind is like training for a future competition, you know it will help you later so you do it. This is when my writing was habitual.
Now though, the act of writing every evening is not just a habit that I do for my long term happiness but also something I get quick satisfaction and short-term benefit from. As I turn my focus to writing at the end of the evening it forces me to peel myself away from any distraction, no more phone or emails or youtube or music or discord. Removing myself from the clutches of these distractions, or diversions of my attention allows for final singular focus, which counterintuitively cools the overheating buzzing in my mind ready for rest. I can't write with distractions so this has to happen, every evening. Some evenings it is more difficult to do so because I haven't thought of a topic to write about. But even staring at the blinking cursor becomes an escape from all the distractions. The act of writing changes my mood and how my cogs are turning, in a positive way, which helps me wind down. The feedback is near-instant. This is when my writing is a ritual.