• Psychology

writing || brief thoughts on private journaling vs public writing

IoanaDecember 19, 2018

Journaling. It’s great, but I’m starting to think blogging may be a better practice. Writing for others forces you to make sense to minds other than your own and be a coherent personality. It’s a bit more challenging but also requires more effort to ensure your words are as raw and organic as possible – because, after all, they’re for other people. (And what’s for other people must always be a notch higher in elegance, polish and poise… Right?)

On that last fragment – I wonder whether we prioritize what is “public” out of a desire to appear outwardly more put-together, or simply to cater to others’ expectations and provide them with a better experience when reading our stuff… (what do you think?)

On the fear of going public

Furthermore, one might argue that when you journal for no one else but yourself you’re able to be a bit more honest without having to filter what you say through a lens of Integrity, Humility, and Meekness. Yes, with a capital I, H and M, because those are our the ultimate contemporary Holy Virtues. But I disagree – you can be just as honest in capturing your shapeless thoughts and feelings with the right communication style. Words, context, atmosphere – can all build the same precise message. It’s just a matter of being willing to take the time to find the right words rather than resorting to an impulsive, albeit socially or politically incorrect statements that are often predicated on cliches and overused expressions.

In more straightforward terms, what I’m trying to say is that theoretically, anything and everything is “safe” to share with other people. Perhaps it’s just our inability to communicate our intentions and motives clearly enough that creates room for misinterpretation and unfair judgements. Of course, disagreement is normal surrounding the values and principles we use to reach certain conclusions. But our fear of appearing too selfish, self-absorbed, paranoid, and anxiety-ridden is irrational. It’s not the thoughts that posses those qualities, but the words we use to describe them.

On change

Another reason I’m sometimes scared to voice thoughts and prefer to journal them is if they’re not fully fledged. Partially for the reasons stated above and partially because I don’t want people to get the wrong idea. Politicians are far too familiar with this phenomenon – a population’s distrust of anyone who openly changes their mind about things. However, on both the receiver and the communicators’ ends, this is something that ought to be tackled with a mindset change. When something is spoken, it’s not ultimate truth. Not only should the communicator understand and convey that their mind might be changed given the right formulation of challenging ideas, but the receiver must be open enough to acknowledge that they cannot evaluate someone from their current un-enlightened state. Maybe in five seconds they’ll realize how bonkers they are. Maybe you’ll talk reason into them. Maybe you’re the one who was wrong all along. Things are in constant motion!

On that note, I’d love for you to tell me why I’m right or wrong in the comments below. 😉