“Consider your success over the course of a lifetime. Here is something to think about: the person who can formulate and communicate the best argument almost always wins. If you want a job, you have to make a case for yourself. If you want a raise, you have to convince someone that you deserve it. If you are trying to convince someone of the validity of your idea, you have to debate its merits successfully.”
“If you sharpen your capacity to think and to communicate as a consequence of writing, you are better armed. The pen is mightier than the sword, as the saying goes. This is no cheap cliché. Ideas change the world, particularly when they are written.”
The quote above is from a 19-page essay composition guide written by Jordan Peterson. I came across it five years ago within some self-improvement circle online. Leave it to Dr. Peterson to write an essay composition guide that’s this dramatic… Needless to say, it was hugely impactful and part of the reason why I have this blog in the first place. I still read it every once in a while. (Download Link).
It wasn’t so much his advice on how to write an essay that left such a profound impact on me, I find his methods overly mechanical and rigid anyways. Instead, it was his advice on why one should write essays that was positively edifying.
The word “essay” originates from the French verb “essayer”, which means to try. The act of writing an essay is to attempt - with the best of one’s ability - to explore some topic of interest. For most of our lives, we write because we are compelled to by a teacher, or a professor, for the sake of demonstrating some competency in some subject matter. However, the true reward of writing extends far beyond passing a class and getting a diploma.
To write is to think. To write is to exercise our ability in idea formulation and organization. Through writing, we turn incoherent, jumbled thoughts into coherent, informed, and sophisticated set of ideas about something we find important. There is no substitute for the writing process, for there can be no thought without expression, no content without form. Whatever profound ideas you may have in your head right now, they simply don’t exist until you can write them down.
Writing improves our ability to make cogent arguments, organize thoughts on the fly, and communicate effectively. It clarifies our thinking and gives us an efficient mind, one that is grounded and well-trained to spot bad ideas and fallacious thinking. In short, writing will make you a formidable individual.
But writing isn’t just some Nietzschen Will to Power. Being able to write well means you’ll be more resilient to the vicissitudes of life and its inevitable hardships. By putting feeling into words, you bring clarity to your mind, and in turn you will be less ailed by unnecessary stress and vague emotional irritations.
Lastly, learning to write hones our ability to think critically, the want of which in a democratic society I dare not contemplate. So write! And teach others to write! Protect yourself from superstitious beliefs, foolish fads, and dangerous ideologies. Equip yourself with the ability to differentiate between good ideas intelligently presented, and bad ideas put forth by conspiracy theorist, populist demagogues, and unskilled thinkers. Write as if your way of life is at stake, as if the healthy functioning of our society is at stake!
(UPDATE Aug 2023): I suppose maintaining the healthy functioning of our society wasn’t enough of an incentive to prevent me from slacking off. I haven’t written anything serious in 6 months.