5 Ways Writing Makes You Happier

There’s this popular image of the drunk, unhappy writer that was perpetuated in the 30s with the likes of Ernest Hemmingway, T.S. Eliot and F Scott Fitzgerald and the rest of the Forgotten Generation.

But the reality is that writing actually improves your life immensely. You don’t need to write long essays to be able to get the benefits of writing either. Even 10 or 15minutes of writing a day will help you become a better, happier person.

You Get Better Grades and Learn More

There is a reason you take notes when listening to a lecture or learning something new. For most of us it’s not so much reviewing the notes (although that is helpful) but the act of writing them down that allows the learnings to stick in our brains.

Studies have shown that students who struggle with doing the work and adapting to university life have remarkably improved their grades by writing about their experience. One such study in Stanford showed those students who wrote or shot a video about university life for future students improved their grades remarkably.

You Have Better Relationships

Most people communicate better when they write something down on paper. It allows them to organize their thoughts in a coherent manner.

On paper, things are permanent. There is no ‘he said, she said.’ You can go back and refer to them at any given point.

In fact, couples who write about an argument they are having with a spouse from a neutral standpoint are much more likely able to resolve their argument.

Writing Down Your Goals

Writing down goals allows you to dream a little. But it also allows you to work towards something which increases happiness.

You might have heard about the 1970 Harvard study that showed only 3% of the class wrote down their goals. But those 3% earned more money than the other 97% of the class combined.

Of course money doesn’t buy you happiness but it can go a long way to helping out.

Some councillors and life coaches use narrative stories to help people achieve their goals. For example, a person will write down why somebody doesn’t have enough time to spend with their family or exercise or do the things they want.

They then take the same story with the same facts and write a second story from a different perspective. By analysing the two stories it will help the person to see where their priorities are and what they can do to shift them so they can accomplish what they want.

Writing Will Sharpen Your Mind, Especially As You get Older

The mind is like a muscle; it grows stronger with practice. The more you use it the more you will be able to stay sharp.

If you use it to do crosswords or word searches or write you will prevent your brain from deteriorating.

In the book, which was turned into a feature film, Unbroken there were 3 survivors of a plane crash. Two of them kept their mind sharp by playing word games. The third didn’t participate and gradually he refused to eat and starved to death. The other two were picked up by the Japanese and placed in an internment camp but eventually the y made it through the war.

Even if you don’t write it down, keeping your mind active will also keep it healthy.

You Can Be Your Own Councillor

Writing is like a free physiatrist. Studies have shown that writing helps with mental health. In fact, in some cases, when you start writing it reduces your stress as much as 29% according to the Academic Journal of Management.

If you ever watched the show Mad Men you know when the main character, Don Drapper, gets divorced he slides into deep alcoholism and self-pity. Don starts a journal where he records his thoughts.

This allows himself to clear his mind and address many of the issues that haunt him. Although Don never really stops drinking or gets healthy, he does pull himself together and gets married again, allowing himself some sort of happiness.

Writing can also really help you if you’ve suffered some sort of trauma in your life. Even if you don’t address the issue specifically, it allows you to deal with the issues that are effecting you.

This is true if you lose your job, you suffer a death in the family or a break up of some sort. If you allow yourself to deal with these events through the written word you recover quicker than not. You will be able to get back into the work force easier or start dating again sooner or whatever it is that you want to get back to.

So even if you’re not a writer, try it out for a couple months and see how you feel. Think of it as a healthy way to self-medicate.

Joel Mark Harris is a writer, film producer and marketer. (@joelmarkharris) He is the founder of Story Laboratory which helps artists market their work. To get a free ebook on How to Make Money Blogging and a Content Marketing Tool Kit sign up HERE

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