When you chase the 'right answer,' you usually end up lost

You know those urban legends, right? The one that says, 'If you look in the mirror at 2:00 AM and chant "I want to write from the heart" three times, your "likes" on note will increase.' Sounds fake? Well, it is an urban legend, after all.
Let me tell you, since I’m the one who tried it, I know for a fact. When I looked in the mirror at 2:00 AM, all I saw was myself, holding a highball in one hand and secretly eating peanut chocolate. #WhatAreWeEvenTalkingAbout

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that everyone is surprisingly weak when it comes to so-called 'right answers.'

People who write are the same way.
When they’re guided with things like, 'This is the right answer,' 'This structure will get you likes,' or 'Let’s add a metaphor here,' they go, 'Oh, I see,' and write something that sounds like it fits.
And what ends up being created is writing that’s like bland peanut butter.
At first glance, it looks smooth and rich, but after you read it, you’re left thinking, 'Huh? What was that?'
It’s tasty, but you don’t need it again tomorrow. You know, we all have things like that.
But you know, there are nights when you can’t forget that rich, wild peanut butter.

What the 'right answer' is, nobody knows.
Because you won’t know if that piece of writing was a masterpiece until 10 years later.
We live in an era where a dark-history blog written 10 years ago is now being called 'emo.'
Times change. They change faster than the lineup of cup noodles at a convenience store.
And here is the main point.

While you’re searching for the right answer, you stop using your own words. You try to sound clever, and in the end, it just tastes like a copy-paste of someone else.

Writing isn’t about finding the right answer for someone else; it’s the work of putting the unresolved things inside you into words. Because writing about what you already know isn’t interesting.
Write while you’re still unsure. Keep going without knowing the answer.
Those 'lost peanuts' might unexpectedly become the main attraction later on.
There’s an urban legend I like.

It says, 'If you keep writing every night, one day, your writing will suddenly come to help you with your life.' Like Doraemon popping out of a desk drawer.
I think that’s true.
Because I’m being helped by it right now.
The right answer is 10 years away. The line you wrote today might just save your future self 10 years from now.

#ThursdayIsThreeSday


[Image courtesy: Sachiwa]

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