How to write something refreshing and helpful for a change

Hey everyone. Thanks for tuning in.

Recently I’ve been spending more time reading than I spend writing.

And In my research, I’ve been noticing something.

Most the articles and stories I’ve read online seem to be coming from an angry place. A really angry, really pessimistic, and sometimes pretty discouraging place. But hey, I get it.

Anger is a greeeeeat motivator to write, and there’s plenty of angering topics to write about. Plenty. It takes half a second to think of one. I write from a place of anger often, and if you write I’d bet you do too.

But maybe we shouldn’t do it so much.

I realize this story is starting to sound a little hypocritical. I’m writing a story to criticize people for writing stories that criticize people. But that’s really not how I’m trying to come across, and I’m sorry if I do come across that way.

I don’t mean to sound judgemental or demeaning. Like I said, I totally get it. Life totally sucks a lot of the time, and it sucks for way more time than it feels like it should suck for.

But here’s the thing — that’s the way things are sometimes. And the fact of the matter is, we have no control over most of the things that happen in our lives.

But we do have some control.

We still get to choose our own opinions and lifestyles, and most importantly, what we do and talk about — how we effect the world.

So refrain from writing about other people’s mistakes and all the monsters out there in the world.

You can write about things that you love too. You can write about all the wonderful people in the world, and all the wonderful things that they do. Hey, that rhymed.

You can write a story focusing on a dragon, or you can write a story focusing on a dragon slayer (and if the story does happen to involve a dragon, make sure to mention the large pile of treasure hidden behind it, because every dragon guards a pile of treasure).

Why Should I?

For one simple reason.

It’s really hard to change people’s minds. Nowadays it seems like 90% of the time, our advice and criticism is denied any serious consideration before it’s even heard out. And out of that last 10%, most people will fail to apply your advice or completely forget it within a week.

Simply put, everyone’s got opinions they’re ready to share, but nobody actually wants to listen to eachother and hear them out. Sadly, there’s rarely a practical need for you to provide your own opinion. Most people don’t want to hear it. It’s all we get nowadays. Opinions.

Opinions don’t do much. If you agree with them, you accept them and don’t change. If you disagree, you probably reject them, and most definitely don’t change.

Everyone’s on their own journey, with their own unique perspective. That sounds nice and inclusive, but what it also implies is that we’re all on a different journey, with different perspectives and strategies.

And I’m not saying you shouldn’t make your voice heard. Every individual has a completely unique and valuable perspective on life that ought to be seriously considered by all.

But most the time, that just doesn’t happen. People are stubborn and they don’t care. People think they’re right. Including you. Including me.

So don’t waste so much time and energy trying to change the minds of others, when you could work on changing your own mind (or just waste time once in a while, like me :P).

The Secret to Making the World a Better Place

If you want to make the world a better place, start with the part of the world you have the most influence over. Start with yourself.

When you spend most your time thinking about how other people should change their lives, you won’t be able to notice when there’s things that you should change about your own.

In other words, you can’t change the world without first changing yourself.

And that’s not to say you ought to only write positive, uplifting pieces about how everything's perfect in life, or to say that theirs nothing to write angry stories about.

There’s a lot of monsters out there in the world’s closets, and we can’t defeat any of them without first dragging them out into the light. I get that.

But if you don’t start with the monsters in your own closet, then how can you help others? So keep an open mind, and stop telling others how to live differently, without first studying how you should live differently yourself.

And by the way, if I didn’t make it clear, I really need to do this myself.

So I’ll keep reading your angry stories.

Really, I will. Because I don’t know everything, and there’s a lot I have to learn about the dragons that need to be defeated out there.

And I look forward to any critical responses. Please, tell me what you think.

I want to learn. I want to grow. I am often wrong, and I more often want to be right. Not just for the sake of being right, but for the sake of improving myself, and helping the people that I influence.

“What is your friend: the things you know, or the things you don’t know. First of all, there’s a lot more things you don’t know. And second, the things you don’t know is the birthplace of all your new knowledge! So if you make the things you don’t know your friend, rather than the things you know, well then you’re always on a quest in a sense. You’re always looking for new information in the off chance that somebody who doesn’t agree with you will tell you something you couldn’t have figured out on your own! It’s a completely different way of looking at the world. It’s the antithesis of opinionated.” 
 ― Jordan B. Peterson

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