Rediscovering your writing style starts with the definition of terms
..and the correct sitting position! Find out how on my journey these two were connected with each other.
Eventhough I slept with a sleeping mask I woke up early. This time of year in Finland the sun rises already after 4:00 am. It took some time getting used to the early light. As I was awake I decided to take a walk to the seaside. The closer I got, a sensation went through me. Soon I felt again what I felt years ago when I walked the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. I would take a picture and post on Facebook with the thoughts; ‘early walkers get the best view!’ When I got to the seaside the sun beams were already glittering over the water. For a moment I stopped and closed my eyes to feel the warmth and let myself merge with the surrounding sounds. The rhythmic sound of flapping birds' wings passed by, while singing their morning song. Followed by the rolling sound of the sea crashing against the rocks. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was a man jogging towards me. When he passed I could read the print on his t-shirt:
Do or do not: there is no try
This message took me back in time. I sat down at a bench and let my thoughts drift over the sea. Last week I wrote about the moment in 2021 when I started writing for myself. I was forced to say goodbye to my working life. Not long after that I had the same insight as on that t-shirt: this time it was not enough to just try. I really wanted to go for it!
For the first time in my life I had the chance to understand how my writing style had evolved over the years. But soon I found myself stuck in my old habits of how I would tackle this matter. Working as a policy advisor I wrote numerous documents. If it was on a particular topic I would usually start off formulating a definition and give meaning to the key elements. In my search to rediscover my writing style I chose the same method. It is an underestimation to say that this was a big mistake. The moment I typed “Writing style” on the Ipad, Google provided in 0,38 seconds 6.280.000.000 results. My head quickly filled up with information. Where to begin?
From now on I needed to do things differently
I quickly decided to save a few links and let it simmer for some time. Also an old stubborn habit. To be in my thought bubble and most of the time over analyze on a matter. But as my physical condition was limited at that time, I had no option than to let my foggy brain do the work. Retreat into my thought bubble was my diversion of having to spend most of the day inside. I did not have much time to ponder as later that day occupational therapist Susan paid me a home visit. It was time to swift my head into more important matters: brussels sprout soup! One of the best soup recipes I had ever found so far in my life! A week earlier Susan had observed me while I was preparing the brussels sprouts soup. I was given advice on posture, lower back movement and sustaining my energy levels. Today I had to sit behind my desk, open the laptop and slowly type the soup recipe for her while she would observe me.
It was one of the most confrontational moments of my recovery
Not even two minute passed by and Susan already asked:
“How do you feel?”
“How am I supposed to know, I am typing?!” I answered in my head.
Again I heard Susan asking me the same question. At that point I felt anger welling up in me. My gaze focused on the screen I shouted:
“One, two, three, four, five, six sentences! I managed to type six sentences. That is how I am doing!”
Shocked at my sudden outburst reaction I looked up from the screen and stared at Susan. She did not respond. I could hear myself mumbling an apology. Only then I felt the nerve pain in my lower back and buttocks. Pain signals I had ignored while typing six lousy sentences. If I wanted to be able to undergo this journey of finding back my writing style, I first needed to learn to listen to my body. While tears rolled over my cheeks I stood up. Susan looked at me understandingly and summarized her findings:
“You sit with a tense posture, shoulders close together, knees tense and feet rolled out. Let's work on the relaxed sitting posture.”
Two years passed by since that moment and I had come a long way. Here I was in Helsinki, sitting next to the seaside in a relaxed posture with my feet up. Pain free sitting still turned out to be challenging. The pain clinic had given me an electric pain relief device called TENS. It gave me some relief and freedom to move. Besides that I had now put my hopes on a treatment in this country to overcome my pain free sitting challenge.
I took a bite from a freshly backed munkki and let the sugar melt on my tongue. Suddenly out of nowhere a seagull flew from behind me trying to grab the rest of the munkki out of my hand. It failed. I was faster. At that glorious moment it hit me:
“I do not need other people to define the meaning of writing style”
If I wanted this to be a true quest on finding back my writing style than there was only one source to draw from: my own experiences.
The coming weeks I will be sharing five pillars that I discovered on my journey. It may very well be more than five as the journey is still going on..
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