009 The Power of Writing Things Down

The seeds of creation begin in our thoughts, and writing helps us harness these ideas into reality. Richmond Camero explores how the simple act of putting pen to paper—whether through to-do lists, social media posts, or journal entries—can transform our relationship with ourselves and our future.

• Writing gives us something tangible to look back on, serving as bookmarks in our journey
• The act of writing forces us to clarify what we truly want and need
• Writing helps set our intentions by expressing what matters most to us
• Our writing shapes who we become by reflecting our priorities and values
• The way we write reveals both our conscious choices and unconscious influences
• When we understand the power of words, we recognize we can write our own story

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Pockets
• 0:56 The Many Forms of Writing
• 2:24 Four Powers of Writing
• 5:12 Write Your Own Story
• 6:32 Closing Thoughts

Transcript

Richmond: 0:05

Hi, you're listening to Pockets, a podcast about finding joy, meaning and purpose in life's simplest moments. I'm Richmond Camero. Let's dive into today's journey.

Richmond: 0:25

Do you know where the seeds of creating begin? From our thoughts. When we start to think about things, when we imagine what our lives would be in the next few years, we begin the process of creation. And what could help us harness those seeds of ideas? We turn to writing. Today, we'll talk about how to harness the power of writing things down.

Richmond: 0:56

Maybe most of us would think that we're not writers, that maybe we're not writing in our journal or different forms of literature, but most of us write texts, compose emails, we create lists and we're posting or interacting in social media. There are little forms of writing that might be automatic for most of us, especially social media. Imagine if you put all your posts, comments and tweets in a page. How long would that be? We might also prefer to write our goals and plans for the week. I've shifted between using manual and digital planners, and I figured that both of them have their own benefits. We're also hearing many people say that we have to write our goals in order to be successful. That line doesn't convince me. As it is, it seems too simple, but I'll break it down to you later what that really means. Finally, there's also writing in our journal Writing stories, essays, poems and other long-form narratives of expression and introspection.

Richmond: 2:10

These are my favorite things to write, those ways where I can feel creative, regardless of what you usually write, writing shows its power And these are four reasons how. First and probably the most practical reason is that it gives us something to look back to, a list of our grocery and tasks for the day. Gives us something to check Notes and journal entries from a few years ago. Gives us something to reflect on. I have used notebooks and papers throughout the years for different purposes, and one time, while I was cleaning my room, I saw a stack of loose papers in my handwriting. I had a sense of what it was. Then I read it. It showed the outline of the very first fiction book I published. It showed the outline of the very first fiction book I published Guardians of Lakaya . It's fun to look back at where I am now and it is also humbling to see where I can still improve.

Richmond: 3:18

Writing keeps us in check and serves as a bookmark in our lives where we can look back to. Second, it helps us clarify what we really want. The act of putting into writing is inherently a question. Writing a task list, for example, is a question of what are the things that I need to do for the day. Perhaps posting in social media asks us how do I want to be seen? Writing in our journal involves a lot of questions, but it mainly asks what do I want to express today? The act of writing makes us pause and think about what exactly is the next step that we want to take. Yes, there's always an option to rewrite them, but once we rewrite something, it could dictate what our next steps would be.

Richmond: 4:13

Related to the previous point is writing's third power. It helps us set our intention. As much as writing is a question, it is also a form of an answer. Once we write something, we set our intention that it is what we want to do, or this is who I want to be. At the beginning of this podcast, I mentioned that creating begins in our thoughts, so writing, then, is an expression of the things that we believe in and the things that matter to us. It might not be obvious, but writing taps our conscious and unconscious mind. The way we write reflects which kind of books and media we are exposed to. The things we write about is a reflection of our innermost triggers and desires. Thus, when we explore through our writing, we set our intention on what we want to do. With what's inside us, we say what we want our life to be, which ultimately leads us to the fourth point that writing helps to shape how we want to be.

Richmond: 5:26

I think this is also the result of the previous points. We look back, we ask a question, then we try to answer it through writing. In the cycle of going through these steps, we are making different choices. Our to-do lists reflect what matters to us. Our social media posts show what we find exciting or triggering. Our journal entries show that we have control over our feelings and, bit by bit, we shape the path we're headed. I think, with knowing these things, it's a relief to know that, to an extent, I can take control on some areas of my life. When we start to see that we can design our own lives, the feeling that we are trapped in our circumstances start to change. Words have power, Names have power. Once we claim that, we start to see what's possible, we start to understand, we can write our own story.

Richmond: 6:36

You've been with Pockets. Thank you so much for sharing this space with me. Now go embrace the moments, build your pockets of meaning and keep curiosity a s your guide.