Words: 348
Time to read: 2 minutes
When absorbing new information, don’t absorb it dispassionately. Make sure to grab it for future use.
Write it out. Reread it. Summarize it in your own thoughts. Compare and contrast to other information that you have received.
What good is having knowledge if it’s not indexed for future purposes? This is one of the challenges that I always faced in reading. I love to read. I likely read more than average but also nothing obscene. I was always reading; however, keeping it for future uses was always challenging. I’m still learning and refining my process but it certainly involves constant note-taking, categorizing, and indexing.
I have no idea what I’ll need for future uses, so I might as well take all that I can manage.
And don’t be afraid to reread a good book.
Not every year–necessarily. But certainly, once every 2-3 years is not a bad idea. If it was so good the first time then it’s probably worth mulling through again.
And why can’t you contribute to the oeuvre that is writing? The best way to learn is to teach others and writing is a further way to refine and communicate your thoughts and ideas. It takes work. It takes dedication. It takes patience. But chew on this for a second–if you wrote just 1,000 words a day in less than 6 months you’d have written well over 100,000 words. Even after your editor guts and proves it, you’re still well on your way to a meaningful opus.
We don’t write because we don’t think deeply anymore. We’ve become so lethargic in our intellectual intake that we have little output of any type that could be meaningful for our fellow man, nothing to say of our own hearts and minds. Don’t relegate your intellectual stimulation to a 20-second TikTok. Don’t limit the amazing capacity that God has given the human brain to a mere 20-second Insta Short.
Absorb. Reflect. Produce. Forget a best seller. Just write because the world needs your voice and you need to speak (or write) up.