Observations On Writing

It is vulnerable. There is always the tension of "how much honesty is too much?" It is somewhat like the movie "What Women Want". Would I really want to know everything someone else is thinking? Probably not, so where is the line for me? Having a filter is good as it demonstrates self-control. Mystery is also good. I am looking for meaning and authenticity with a level of self-control, which brings me to my next point.

It can be authentic to you or not. In the case of Chat GPT, yes, it can write basically anything you want or need. I have enjoyed using it. However, here is what it cannot do. It cannot search my soul and pull out what I want to communicate through words. It cannot produce me. It can mimic me, but it's only guessing with the data it has. It's like buying a piece of art to hang on the wall instead of creating and hanging your own art on the wall. Only I can write what I think, see, or feel. Speaking of feeling...

I have Impostor Syndrome, and I don't understand why some people deal with it and some don't. I am baffled by the number of self-proclaimed "experts" who write or speak on topics that I don't see them living out in their own lives. In many ways, we are all imposters. There is a significant gap between speaking or writing words on a subject and living them out in your life. I deal with this, but it helps me stay true to myself.

Writing is both easy and hard. It's easy to throw words down on a page or screen to make yourself sound knowledgeable about a topic. But it's also challenging, as it requires skill. Communicating clearly and effectively is difficult, especially when making complex ideas easy to understand. The hardest part of this process is closing the gap between what is in my mind and what readers understand.

Oh well, cheers to continuing to learn and grow in this area.

I do not want to lose interest in life itself; that is when depression can kick in. After forty years, there are a lot of "been there and done that" moments. We have got to keep things interesting. I can see how easy it is to get bored. I'd rather not live out my days that way.