The Evolution of My Writing & Creativity
At the beginning of my Reading & Blogging Challenge, I lamented how clunky my thoughts and words were. They felt like hardened toothpaste struggling to leave the tube.
Recently, I posted my 118th blog post of the year. This one was about the book Disentangling From Emotionally Immature People by Lindsay C. Gibson. I spent most of the post musing about a single word- the first word of the title: disentangling.
Before, I would read an entire book and feel like I had nothing to say. I was a passive reader and unsure how to form my own opinions and experiences into words. Now, I will happily spend an entire blog post reflecting on the meaning of a single word. How’s that for progress?
I feel like a person who visits an art museum then immediately looks at the fire escape plan right inside the entrance way and questions if it is art. Because now, even the most ordinary details spark my curiosity. Before, they were just indiscernible background noise.
I am much quicker to notice and question even the most basic things, which shows me that questioning the world and growing your original voice are two skills that can be cultivated. It took practice, but I can see how much I have grown since the start of this journey. My January 2025 self would be proud.
So, how can you grow a critical mind and clear voice? Here are 5 steps that I recommend.
5 Ways to Improve Your Thinking and Communication
1. Read Books
This is easy for me to say because I am currently doing a reading challenge, but the results are immeasurable and widely applicable. All of the smartest people I know are voracious readers. I don’t think there is a single field where reading more books would not improve your impact.
Different Forms of Content
Content can come in many forms: auditory, written, and visual- most often a combination of these. It can be short-form, designed for quick consumption, or long-form, which is more in-depth. The way we metabolize the information is affected by the way we consume it.
For example, books are consumed more slowly than visual media, and at the reader’s own pace. This leaves space for mental digestion; similar to how eating more slowly results in better stomach digestion. While reading, you can pause to write something down or mull something over. You get to know your own thoughts as well as the writer’s, in an evolving manner. Whereas, when watching a movie, the film continues on at its own pace whether you are engaged or confused.
Reading is also collaborative between the author and reader. The author gives prompts but the reader’s imagination and perspective fill in the rest. That is a lot more space for your thoughts than when you are watching a movie or documentary.
Yet, visually, we can take in a lot more information in less time than we can with words. That is a blessing and a curse. It is why topics like art and data visualization are so applicable. A picture tells a thousand words, after all. And it can do this in an instant.
Even many road signs use some sort of visual so that people who are travelling quickly or do not speak the language can understand it. This is good for quick interpretation, and bad for personal creativity.
Of course, visual media can be digested slowly; such as staring at a masterpiece in an art gallery. But this requires the viewer to cultivate that inner space and hold themself there.
Consuming long-form media that requires your own imagination and interpretation will help you to see the world from a strong, informed, and original perspective.
2. Just Start Creating
I know a band in real life. In fact, they are friends of mine. I love their music, but they only make a fraction of the music they could be making because nothing ever feels quite right to them. It is maddening as their friend and fan. Just do it, I think.
Your early work will probably be horrible, but that is how you find yourself. My early blog posts definitely weren’t as good as they are now but the improvement came from practice, not ruminating out of a sense of perfectionism. It is also how you gain confidence.
Challenge Yourself
At the beginning of the year, I gave myself a challenge to read 52 books and blog about them. This was an unintentionally great decision (although in hindsight, the number of books was a little high). At that time, I was creatively meek. I needed an external reason to create or else I would have spent the entire year overthinking and going nowhere.
Now, I don’t have time to think. I just have to create. If you are struggling with getting started, then maybe give yourself a self-imposed challenge. Such as: write one song a day for the next 30 days. Many of the songs will probably be trash, but that is to be expected if you only had a day to write each one.
The goal post shifts from: Make it perfect to just Make it. Period. By the end, you will have fresh content to work with. You might even surprise yourself with the quality of some of your songs, or you might mash a few bad songs together to make a good song. And the confidence you gained will help you create more after your challenge is complete.
A self-imposed challenge also helps you to not compare yourself to others too early because only you are doing the challenge. You can then just focus on yourself: Just create. Create. Create. And don’t wish for success too early. That will just invite premature comparisons. Find your voice first.
3. Don’t Just Stick to Your Field
Venturing away from your field helps increase your perspective. You will understand people outside of your group more. This has added emotional benefits- but also practical ones, like potentially understanding a new customer base.
And you will likely learn more because there, you are an amateur, not an expert. So reading one book outside of your comfort zone will increase your perspective much more than reading yet another one in a field that you are already an expert in. Your mind will then subconsciously associate what you have learned back to your field of interest.
Besides, there is a lot of opportunity in crossover. It helps you to show how unique you are. Your creations will be an amalgamation of all the different parts of you, and this will appeal to a wide audience.
4. Be An Individual So That You Can Connect With Others
Ironically, the more we feel like ourselves, the more we can connect with others. This is the opposite feeling of being alone in a room full of people. When you are grounded in your authentic self, you will attract others who share similar interests and values.
Creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The people you surround yourself with can help sharpen or dull your personal creativity. So make sure the goal of the groups you are a part of include cohesion and not conformity; success, not distraction.
5. Create Something You Are Proud Of
Only you can know what this is. One person’s pride and joy might be another’s personal hell, such as: building a makeup empire, excelling in sports, creating a video game, starting a family, etc.
This is an internal metric that only you can decide.
Creating something that you are proud of, even in some small way, will help you develop confidence that can be applied to your life in other ways. Pursuing these goals adds to self-esteem, instead of corroding it.
One person can be immensely proud of the gaming channel they have built, while another might feel ashamed lately at the amount of time they have spent playing video games. That is because those people have two different goals and metrics for success. For the former, the activity is a joy, for the latter it is a distraction from what they should be pursuing. And that feeling of shame is a killer for your creativity, originality, and motivation.
Focus on Consistency Over Talent
When you are just starting out, don’t focus on your talent (or lack thereof). Focus on your consistency, curiosity, and courage. Read widely, create regularly, explore beyond your comfort zone, and stay true to yourself. This, I have found, is the formula for creating something that you are proud of, something that feels uniquely yours.
Doing so will help you find joy in the journey so that the goal is just a high point of your experience. Not an outlying or singular event.
Messy Bun Book Lover
(Originally posted on Aug. 16, 2025)