When information becomes too much - chaotic that is - all intertwined and over the place and we don't know where to begin, then common sense dictates that we require some form of structure. To structure the information: Categorize, label, visualize and any other means of structuring it.

(Photo by Brad Neathery on Unsplash)

Words As Structure

Writing our experiences down on paper or a document on the computer is one good way to place our inner 'chaotic' world into a structure. Our inner world of thoughts, inner chit-chat, emotions and feelings running all over the place, and other deeper patterns that constitute who we are. This structure is words. Are words not structure? Aren't words, and writing words into sentences and paragraphs a form of structure? Our thoughts, inner backchats, emotional and feeling experiences are not structure. They exist inside our mind. We can't touch them. We can't, or don't have access to such a dimension of being able to 'grab' our thoughts, backchats, emotions and feelings and lay them out on a canvas, or piece of paper, or any other platform for the sake of structuring them in our physical world. What we do have available are physical words. Writing.

The Act of Writing

The tool of writing. With writing we give structure to our inner worlds. We are able to give structure to our thoughts running rampant inside our heads. We are able to give structure to our inner talks going on and about in our minds. We are able to give structure to our emotions and feelings that reside and come up inside our minds and selves. When we do that, when we give structure to what's going on inside us and what we are going through inside us - we now have the ability, all of a sudden it seems, to categorize, organize and overall structure our inner-self information and data. We are able to present it better, easier and make it more accessible for ourselves to look at, identify or spot the problems of our inner experiences or outer experiences easier. We are able to work through our inner-self information and data much, much, much more efficiently. Now, structure, in the form of words, sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, gives us the opportunity to see what's going on inside us, what we accept and allow and where we accept and allow ourselves to participate in it inside our minds, selves, our world and reality.

You can move the information around and set yourself up for understanding and self-change

By placing our inner-self experiences and everything we go through and what makes us us at the moment into a supportive structure of words, through writing we are able to work with ourselves and who we are much more efficiently. We can now shift the inner-self information and data we placed into the structure (words) around. Highlight it, indent it, make lists, number it, expand on it with more writing or speaking about it, look at it more objectively since it's right here in front of us, and overall we are making ourselves AWARE of what's going on inside of us. Instead of just keeping it in our heads, in our minds where it then get's 'forgotten' through suppression. The core of our issues and problems, and what makes us us and the things we would like to change about who we are - because we see it's not the best version, not our utmost potential of who we could be - remains intact and lives on. When we write our inner-self experiences out, place them in front of us into structure - through writing words, sentences, paragraphs and whole documents about what we go through, and how to change ourselves - then we place the information 'out here' in front of us, undeniable and we are able to always come back to it, look at it, work more on it until we find a practical solution for it and are able to live the change we would like to see inside ourselves regarding the point we are wanting to change.

Conclusion

Writing is an excellent and very practical tool to support ourselves with self-change and understanding the things we are going through inside ourselves: Thoughts, emotions, feelings, behavioral patterns, inner self-talk / backchat, and so on. Writing has been around for eons of time. Seldom do we use it though to write from a starting point of creating understanding of the things we go through and exist as, and the starting point to find practical solutions to change ourselves for the better and best for ourselves.

Give writing a go. Make your startingpoint clear though: To assist and support yourself to understand you and what you are going through inside of you, and to push yourself to find practical solutions to change yourself. Test it out. I've been writing from such a starting point for more than 10 years and it's done wonders with self-understanding, and self-change. I am my own testimony and proof.

Thank you!
Do well,
Nebi :)