The greatest obstacle to writing and learning is the belief that one knows everything. Our pride inhibits our learning ability. When we believe we know everything, there is nothing left to learn. Any attempt to learn something new can only lead to a worsening of our wisdom. So the first step to writing and learning is to accept that we do not know everything.
It is beneficial to extend this belief further. We would benefit by adopting Socrates’ mindset: “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” When we believe that we know nothing, then we are capable of learning. The beginner has nothing to lose, and so they can learn anything. The expert has everything to lose, and so they can learn nothing.
Most people (myself included) avoid writing because we fear acknowledging the vast scope of our ignorance. Writer’s block is a symptom of this mentality. We stare at the blank page, hesitant to write because it seems that anything we write will expose ourselves as being weak and feeble. We fear that we will be swallowed whole by the dark abyss of the unknown.
So we judge ourselves. We judge ourselves for not writing. And we judge ourselves if we do write. The inner critic fears being exposed. By preventing ourselves from writing, the critic is not exposed. But the critic lives in the land of illusion. The critic’s self-image is flawed. There is nothing to protect. There is no image to cling to. Nobody can know everything. To think that we can is to be deluded.
Writing and learning force us to shatter the ego’s deluded self-image. Here lies the catch-22. If the ego does not shatter itself, then it will eventually be shattered by the world. John Gall said, “A system that ignores feedback will eventually be shaken to pieces by repeated violent contact with the environment it is trying to ignore.” To learn, we must shatter our illusion of perfection. We must accept our imperfection. We must empty our minds of ourselves.
Writing is a form of mindfulness. Writing lets us put our thoughts where we can see them. Writing empties our minds. We see that we are not our thoughts. Our thoughts flow through us. We are the container that holds thoughts. Let us not confuse the passenger for the vehicle. When we engage in the writing process, when we have lifted the critic, when we can see the critic as just another thought pattern—that is when we find our way out.
Writing enables us to see ourselves from a different perspective. And, ultimately, that is what learning is all about: seeing differently. Drawing connections in a new light. Seeing a picture from a different perspective. When we let the inner child roam free and the words flow onto the page without the inner critic, we begin to have fun. Fun is the reward we get for learning. Fun is the reward for discovering new patterns to play with. Fun happens when we break rules.
We we write, the inner critic steps aside. We experience what it’s like to think and live without the critic. We explore a new way at being. We see the world differently. We play. We have fun. We learn.
related:
change
patterns
unknown
discomfort
morning pages
writing is uncomfortable
