Writing or Doing: Which is More Fulfilling?
Cover Brands #04 — A collaborative discussion
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Setting the Stage
This article may be a little different from what you’re used to reading. While this style isn’t completely original, it might be your first time reading a story of this kind.
In a nutshell, this is multiple writers discussing one topic together.
The question at hand: Which enables you to live a more memorable, full life? Is it sitting down, surveying your thoughts, then writing them out? Or, is it putting yourself out there and taking on more experiences?
Ultimately, which makes you feel more satisfied and complete?
1. Writing — Alec
I’ve gotta go this way. Since I’ve only been blogging for a short time, the difference from before and after is completely transparent — there are tons of benefits to writing down your thoughts and sharing them frequently.
I published my first blog post in June of 2017; I’m coming up on one full year of writing and let me tell you, this has felt like the longest year of my life. Seriously, I even tweeted it, so you know it’s real.
When I think back to my 21st birthday, I remember the excitement of preparing to launch my blog. It feels like forever ago and I firmly believe that’s because I’ve been writing ever since!
Writing serves as a reason to congregate all your ideas, thoughts, and experiences. Once you share them with the world, they live on forever.
I love looking back on old Medium articles and blog posts; it’s like time traveling, it puts me right back in the mindset I had when I wrote it.
That’s why writing makes life feel so wholesome… because you’re documenting how your mind is changing and you’re leaving a trail of personal progression.
2. Doing — Nate
You probably shouldn’t be shocked that an artist such as myself chose doing. Especially since my @ is nateDOESart. 😁
Sure, like Alec, you can write at length and remember quite a lot, but I must insist that oodles of noodl…err, I mean nuance…comes explicitly from doing.
Without the physical act of doing the thing, much is lost.
For example, if you’ve studied something at length but you’ve never done it, it’s hard to imagine what that experience is actually like no matter how much information you can remember. Consider the reasoning behind method acting.
When you do things, magic happens in your body. Your brain makes new connections and builds muscle memory of your physical actions.
You will clearly and vividly remember how you felt when you were doing the thing. This happens so you can repeat the task easier and better the next time you have to do it.
Later, when you’re recalling something that you’ve physically done countless times, you can nearly feel the actual experience taking place. If you’re recalling something you’ve only done once, you may only remember a vague feeling.
If you want to live the full experience of painting, you must paint, and if you want to remember it best, you must paint repeatedly. Through multiple attempts you will attain a much deeper understanding.
And that’s why I have to go with “doing” on this one.
3. Writing — Nicole
I will have to join the writing stans on this debate. While I do agree with the notion “faith without works is dead,” I can’t disregard the fact I’m a true [overly] analytical thinker. It’s a blessing and curse, but I’ve learned to live with it and use it to my advantage.
Within our lifetime, we have a great deal of experiences. For some, life hits you fast and you really don’t know what’s going on at the moment…
Sometimes you need to get lost in your thoughts, so you can reflect on them later.
Pouring all of the chaos from your mind into a personal journal or blogging platform is like writing an autobiography.
When you look back on your writings, you will be amazed with how far you’ve come, as well as determine how you can make a better future.
Many of us are already doing the more visual form of this on social media: #thenandnow, #throwbackthursday, #glowupchallenge, or some type of body transformation photo collage.
Putting your reflections in the form of writing is a great way to document how you develop and re-create yourself.
Writing out my thoughts really helps me evaluate things, while also guiding me in the right direction.
We thank you for reading! 👏 What do you think of our first collab story?
Cover Brands is still looking for more creators to party along with us. If you want to be a contributor, awesome! Just respond to this article saying “I wanna write!” And if you’re feeling bold… join our open Slack group!
