Have you ever found yourself dumping all of your thoughts and feelings onto a friend or significant other? Or caught yourself in a conversation with a colleague, venting about things you didn't even realize were bothering you 5 minutes ago?
While these moments aren't necessarily ideal, you know what we inevitably feel when they're over?
Better.
We feel better for having given voice to whatever is pent-up inside. The pressure valve has been released, even if temporarily.
But what if this act of giving voice was more consistent and persistent? What if we gave voice to the areas where we're stuck or frustrated on a regular basis, so that we didn't get to the breaking point where it inevitably spills over onto the people around us?
Giving voice is cathartic. And catharsis leads to clarity.
This catharsis can't happen between the ears either, meaning we can't think our way through the things we need to give voice to. Our minds are too noisy for that, and they're terrible at drawing concrete conclusions. Our minds need to be quieter, not louder.
So the catharsis has to happen with a pen or with our words. We need to write it out or talk it out. While different mediums in meaningful ways, they're both effective at helping us work through things.
When our ideas and commentary have to be filtered through the narrow lens of a pen or a conversation, clarity is the natural endpoint. The mind is quieted because the thoughts have been distilled. And when the mind is quieted, the catharsis begins.
Give voice to what needs a voice on a regular basis. Do it daily. It's why journaling works. It's why therapy works. It's why coaching works.
Where we feel tension or where we feel stuck is where we need to grow. And where we need to grow begins to sprout once we give it a voice.
Start now.
Where are you stuck? Where are you frustrated?
Write it out. Talk it out. Email it to me if you want to.
Clarity and catharsis are on the other side.