potential

It is the opportunity to discover your potential as a writer.

Strangely, I would attempt to write like what I am doing these days.
I do not read much at all. I was never a reader and I have never paid much attention in class anyway when I was a student.

I have a checkered past and the dubious distinction of having my empty composition book flung out of the window in school by my form teacher ( yes, back in the sixties, teachers rule). Now, this incident has become part of the content of this article🤣

A large part of my learning was about dry subjects like dentistry which I love, Japanese and Mandarin language and public speaking.

I just happened to chance upon Medium.com one day while surfing the internet and casually read the articles whose titles attracted me such as “How to become a better writer”, “ For a genius brain, focus on how to think, instead of what to think” and “ Don’t avoid obstacles — overcome them”. I came to know about writers like Ryan Holiday, Nicolas Goke, Jessica Wildfire, and others.

Then I realized that I have been missing all those gems that could be mined from reading. I have missed a lot of life if I did not pick up reading. It is as interesting as traveling if not more. And more so for a dentist’s mind which I feel is so structured like an engineer.

I became more interested as I read. There were many good articles and some of the writers had followers as many as 70,000 and more! I aspired to be like them.

Many authors encourage others to jump on the bandwagon to write. Keep showing up, they say. I guess they meant to keep writing. Many shared their initial struggles and the secrets of being a good writer.
For example, tips on presenting your article in an uncluttered and formatted manner, choice of images and even relevant topics.

I never believed that I could write or at least write well but I gave myself a chance. I believed I could since I am already a senior and have enough life experiences. I started to dig into my long history and discovered that I did have many positive events to share.

Authors on medium.com are largely positive and optimistic people from diverse backgrounds. Everything I read from Technology to Philosophy was a bonus to me. I became more enlightened and felt encouraged to learn more.

Many writers dispensed solutions to common problems encountered in daily lives. They were open, sincere, and authentic. I have found a comfortable niche in the medium. Authors who wrote on their professional articles gave me much knowledge that was relevant to what I am concurrently learning.

For instance, in the study of philosophy which I have developed some interest, some authors were able to portray the thinking of philosophers in such a succinct manner, I would apply those principles to my life.

My thinking processes have improved and along with that, they have enhanced my public speaking skills in Toastmasters club’s meetings as I have more sources to reference from.

I have written about 60 articles since I started in December 2019. It was beyond my expectation that I could write this many though I know that I would have to improve my presentation and quality with each piece of work to warrant a publication to accept it.

It is an interesting learning curve. It is humbling to realize that I know so little other than my career and my hobbies. There are so many things to explore that are current and useful. So many ideas to improve my mind and my attitude.

Discovering medium.com is one of the best things that happened to me late last year. It has opened a self-belief in me that I can develop a new skill even late in life.