#4: Why I'm Writing
How I got started on the path of writing
What's bugging me.
Over the past several months, I have begun to notice something while listening to podcasts that I hadn't truly understood previously. Guys I admire, like Jocko, Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, Lex Fridman, and many others, are all staggeringly articulate. They're much more articulate in many subjects I'd like to be more articulate in, and their mastery of the english language is far beyond my own.
How do I measure how much more articulate they are than me in particular subjects?
I think I've found a simple test. After listening or reading their work, I attempt to explain what I've just learned. This attempt typically takes the form of me stumbling over myself, struggling to explain concepts to my poor wife and almost always ends with the classic "they explain it so much better, I'm not doing it justice" disclaimer. Even if I've listened to or read about the subject I'm discussing many, many times, I still struggle to articulate what I think.
It bugs me that I'm nowhere near as articulate as I'd like to be in subjects that I find extremely important. And it bugs me a lot.
Why it bugs me.
There's a million things to be bugged by in this world, so, why is being articulate the one I've locked on to?
It's not the comparison of myself to folks like Dr. Peterson or Jocko that bugs me. Whether or not I can ever achieve their level of articulation is unknown. But, what I do know is that I'm nowhere close to as articulate as I could be. I know this because I haven't worked on it. It's not a skill that I've actively tried to improve upon.
And that's a issue. It's an issue because my ability to articulate my thoughts effects how I interact with the world. It's one of the primary factors in all of my relationships.
Myself: My ability to articulate my own thoughts in my own head effects how I perceive myself, and how I think about the world. As I work on becoming more articulate, I progress toward building my own understanding of the world and what I believe to be true. If I don't focus on this, I'll leave myself wondering without direction.
My marriage: If I can articulate myself clearly, I can convey to my wife clearly what I'm aiming at and why I'm feeling or thinking what I am. If I fail to be articulate, I leave my wife twisted in circles trying to understand what in the world is going on with me, leaving her confused and potentially hurt.
My children & family: If I can articulate myself clearly, I can effectively pass on the important lessons to my children to give them the best shot at this life. If I fail to be articulate, I may inadvertently lead them astray or down an unintended path.
My colleagues: If I can articulate myself clearly, I can create alignment across the organization and build a team that is working toward accomplishing the mission. If I fail to be articulate, my colleagues are left without a clear direction, resulting in the organization falling behind and individual team members feeling lost and without value.
Peter Drucker, author of The Effective Executive, frames articulation as taking responsibility for the "usability" of our product, that product being our knowledge. For anyone to be able to use the knowledge I have, I have to make that knowledge accessible to them, and that is entirely dependent on my ability to articulate myself.
As the complexity of problems and challenges I face increases, the importance of my ability to articulate myself increases at least proportionally, if not exponentially. I've been in many meetings, where a single word being misunderstood between differing groups of people has led to a staggering amount of confusion and time wasted. If I'm trying to leverage other people to help me solve the largest problems my teams and I face, my ability to articulate myself to prevent this from happening is paramount in my ability to be effective.
So, I fear the future where I fail to be an articulate leader. A future where I lead myself, my wife, my family, and my community astray because of my shortcomings in this skill. At the same time, I'm bullish on my ability to become more articulate, and the resulting good I can muster in the world by becoming a more effective communicator.
So, I've started writing.
How do I become more articulate? By writing. Both Dr. Peterson and Jocko emphasize the importance of writing for this. So, that's the journey I have begun to embark on. Over the last 4 or 5 months, I've began writing much more than I ever have in the past.
I'm excited to see where this path leads me. So far, exploring my thoughts have given me a different perspective on not only the world, but a different perspective of myself. The more I practice, the more interested I've become in better understanding how other people think about things as well. This is especially true of those people who are close to me, who I have the opportunity to engage in conversation with on various topics.
If you know me well, take this as a letter of encouragement from me. My hope is that by sharing my thoughts here, maybe we'll engage in a fruitful conversation that may not have occurred otherwise that will lead us both down the road to truth and a better understanding of ourselves.