Day 2,700 —the Only thing that is Harder than Writing is Teaching Writing— with my PICTURE of an EXCAVATOR

I had to write some essays the past couple of weeks for classes, and I was surprised how easily it came back to me. I was worried that being out of the practice that it would be more difficult than I remember. 

Yet, with all the time I have spent teaching others how to write, it has made in comparison writing seem easier. I am not suggesting that my writing is perfect, but the act itself has become more automatic. I don’t spend as much time staring at the screen anymore. Now, I do most of my thinking and processing about what I want to write before I sit down to write. 

That’s always my goal when I teach students how to read, I am trying to get them to start a conversation with the text as they read, so when they’re done reading. They can process and think about what they believe the reading is suggesting. It usually starts with a general impression or reaction to the topic, subject, or argument about what one is reading. Next, one should figure out why they got the impression that they did, and now you have something to write about. 

So, yesterday I told a group of strangers about my plans to run a 100-mile race to help model a coaching session. I was surprised I found it helpful. I realized that although I am confident in my physical abilities and know my weakness and strengths mentally, I am not very confident in my own ability to know what is best for me to do to train. 

Many people have tried to tell me their way of doing things, but that never works for me. I read, research, and talk to the experts whenever I am doing something for the first time; yet, I usually still do my own thing after doing all that research. No one knows better than I do how I learn, and I need to own that.