We’re in an era of telling our stories at the moment. From “Me too”, to “Black Lives Matters”, to “This is Me” and “It gets better”, we’re all using personal accounts to motivate change for the better. And it works because of how emotive those stories are: we can make the reader or listener feel our experiences. Today I want to reflect on that, and writing more broadly.

When I shared my blog last week, one reply on LinkedIn signposted me to Marshall Ganz and the Public Narrative. I duly watched this lecture series on YouTube, and it got me thinking about the power of storytelling, and of writing in general. In particular, it made me thing about three points:

1. Writing for mental health
2. Writing to influence
3. Writing and purpose

I think these are all very interlinked. The sort of stories that come up in community activism are very much driven by a purpose, and the emotional toll that can be linked to that purpose presents a very real need for people to actively manage their well-being.

Writing for mental health

I want to start here because it’s World Mental Health Day as I write this, and although the lecture series linked above focuses on influencing others, storytelling can be incredibly powerful in its impact on the teller.

I both knew this and had forgotten it when I first picked up my pen to start this blog (I usually write a hard copy version first for reasons you’ll see below). For a start, writing is very cathartic. You can pour your emotions onto a page. Sometimes this is working through negative emotions: loss, confusion, anger. Sometimes this is a celebration of joy, hope, warmth or affection. You can also write to dream, or write to plan.

Sometimes I write to simply arrange my thoughts on a page, because everything is tumbling around too loudly for me to sleep.

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember and, more recently, it’s consciously become part of how I maintain my mental well-being. I’ve been through therapy for both anxiety and depression, and writing can be used as a technique for managing both.

For example, I have a success diary where I write about the things I’ve managed to do, or just things that felt good and reminded me people care. I do this every day, right before bed, and it helps me sleep. I do it as a daily habit, even in better periods, because a consistent habit is easier to maintain in difficult periods as well. This is a technique that helps me celebrate the victories when I’m at my lowest.

I also love to write creatively. It fires up different parts of the brain, and there’s so much benefit from having crafted something – anything – but particularly a story that might make people feel. Unfortunately, like running, there are days I really don’t want to do it. The last thing I want to do after a busy work week in front of a laptop is sit down and type at one. It doesn’t matter that I know I’ll feel better as soon as I’m doing it. (I have a manuscript of around 100,000 words that I’ve theoretically been editing for several years now.)

This blog was born partly from that struggle to start writing. It gives me direction, purpose and a low key obligation to write regularly. It also gives me a medium to reflect on things, because my therapist pointed out that a skill that might help with my depression is to learn to be more present. I tend to treat life (and learning) like a huge checklist I need to get through, always rushing to the next thing without savouring where I’ve been and the beauty of the journey. By capturing the journey in words, I get to reflect and recognise its value in the present moment. With a year as uncertain as 2020, being present is probably something we can all benefit from.

Writing to influence

I started this blog entry as a reflection on the lecture series about Public Narrative. The lectures focus on community activism and the role of storytelling – it’s about using storytelling to influence action. How to do it is captured beautifully, and I think it’s a structure transferable to anyone seeking to influence. It looks at:

1. The story of self – you tell your story with detail enough for others to feel it;
2. The story of us – you create a sense of shared value, potentially looking to a familiar scenario; and,
3. The story of now – why it’s so urgent to act in this moment, with a simple call to action on what could make a difference.

I am obviously summarising and paraphrasing, so do go back to the source material for more if you’re intrigued.

I think it’s particularly pertinent to those of us invested in advancing the inclusion agenda. Personal accounts are what people respond to most, but at a certain point, the audience moves past the shock and starts to look for the ‘so what do I do?’ For those willing to tell their stories, it has the potential to achieve more if we can do it with a link back to that action.

I’m looking forward to seeing more people conquering this technique and making a difference in the world.

Writing and purpose

My third reflection is about how that process of arranging thoughts on a page can tell us about ourselves and our goals.

For those who watch far enough through the lecture series, you’ll see Ashleigh being grilled on why, why, why about her story of self – what does she believe in? Where did it start? Why did that matter to her? Technically, that influencing framework could be applied to countless scenarios where you care strongly about an issue, but that moment with Ashleigh had me reflecting on how it can help you frame your overriding purpose – that ikigai.

I think there’s something very valuable to be gained from stepping back and asking yourself if you know what the answers would be with respect to your story, your us and your now. Why do you do the things you do?

This message was also powerful for me: If you don’t create your story, others can craft it for you and their version may do you no favours.

So take a moment and ask yourself what your goal is (the now), why it matters to you (the self) and how you can articulate that to others (the us). That is writing helping you to articulate your purpose to yourself. It’ll also help you to communicate it to others and bring them on your journey.

To me, it also helps test if you’re still on the right path when you have something to refer back to. Events in our lives – things like a pandemic, for example – can be a huge catalyst for changing what’s most important. They’re an opportunity for setting a new direction, too, because we’re in an environment we couldn’t imagine before.

If you have any more recommendations for me, do drop me a note. I hope some of the ideas here are useful to you: in maintaining your own well-being; in thinking about how you have impact in sharing your experiences; and in checking in on whether you’re still aligned on your purpose. If you’re like me, maybe it helps with all three.

Thank you for reading.