I’m digging deep into bravery and making big changes to my writing.
For the first time ever I am writing much more than I am sharing. This means I’m building up a library of writing content and I finally have the time to work on exciting new writing projects.
This is a real milestone for me and one I have waited over a decade to reach – 13 years to be exact since I launched my first blog.
This ability to write more coincides with an internal need to write from a deeper, more meaningful, more open and more transparent place.
I’ve been giving this much thought recently and I’ve realised there are five levels to my writing and what I want to share through my writing.
These 5 levels of writing can also relate to how we all live our lives and what we all share with the world,
Level 1:
This is what we might post on social media that we don’t mind everyone in the world seeing.
This is surface level stuff.
It’s mostly best foot forward, the type of content you see when scrolling social media. It’s not all entirely true or at least it doesn’t tell the whole story.
What we see on social media is mostly a one sided story, we don’t seem to see the challenges of life that we all face.
This is the writing I have been doing for many years, it’s surface level writing.
This writing no longer serves me, I have outgrown it.
This is not deep, meaningful, open or transparent – it’s surface level only.
Level 2:
This is what we might share openly with family and friends but not openly on social media. It might not be for everyone’s ears but we’re happy for everyone to know about it if they hear it.
It’s pretty surface level also.
This is usually best foot forward stuff but might have a slight glimpse into the challenges we face.
This is not deep, meaningful, open or transparent, it’s surface level with glimpses into a bit of depth.
Level 3:
This is what we share with say our partners and our close family & friends. This is not information we are happy for the whole world to know about and it certainly isn’t information that we are going to post on social media.
This gives a glimpse into what is really going on in our lives.
This is usually our highest highs and maybe not our lowest lows, but our lows in some context.
It’s a bit deeper and more meaningful than the surface level stuff. It shows our life as it really is and not the picture that may be painted to the rest of the world.
This includes the dreams we dream and some of the challenges we face.
Now we are getting into the deep, meaningful, open and transparent space!
Level 4:
This is what we would only share with trained professionals like doctors, life coaches, counsellors, psychotherapists etc.
This is information that we don’t want to share with even our nearest & dearest, we are not happy for the world to know about it and we certainly wouldn’t go posting it on social media.
This is the deep, meaningful, open, transparent stuff that we are only brave enough to share with a trained professional. Whilst this could be our highest highs it’s mostly our lowest lows and the challenges we face that we can’t navigate on our own.
I’ve had life coaching at times when I couldn’t move forward on my own. The brilliant life coaches gave me the strength to leave situations that were killing my soul. I am currently seeing a genius psychotherapist who is slowly but surely transforming my life and bringing me closer to who I know I can be. She is also a trained grief counsellor so is helping me navigate my journey of grief after the loss of my beloved Dad.
I often joke with her that people would think we are both a little crazy if they heard what we talk about. She assures me, it’s not crazy, it’s just not the level of sharing we are used to in our day to day lives!
- We are not taught or encouraged to live at this level
- We are not taught or encouraged to share at this level
- We are not taught or encouraged to understand life at this level
- We are not taught or encouraged to solve our problems at this level
This level exists in us all.
As we don’t often share it, it all happens in our minds or if we are lucky enough, in the office of a trained professional
This is where I’d like to spend more of my time and sometimes I get frustrated that society in general doesn’t spend more time here or teach us how to access and utilise this limitless place.
I often think I’m on the wrong planet as I’d love to live more of my life from this beautiful, enriching and authentic place.
This is the very deep, very meaningful, very open and very transparent space of living, sharing and writing!
This is the deep sea diving of living, sharing and writing.
Level 5:
Welcome to the inner world.
This is what nobody has access to only ourselves – this is our inner world.
This is our innermost thoughts, desires & dreams but also our innermost challenges & turmoil.
- We all have an inner world
- Access to this world belongs solely to ourselves, it is rarely if ever shared
- Our inner world is a very rich and beautiful place yet it can also be very dark and disturbing
Our inner world contains,
- the happiness and the sorrow we feel
- the elation and the despair we feel
- the light of our lives and the contrasted darkness
- the light of our lives and the shadow that is cast upon the light
All of the above is normal yet it’s a place no one talks about or explores until they end up in crisis sitting across from a trained professional.
This mostly happens when the inner world becomes intolerable which also makes the outer world also intolerable.
If you want to make real, sustainable change in your life it’s best to make it from this place.
- Our inner world is in the driving seat of our lives and the outer world is the reflection in the wing mirrors. Our inner world holds the compass to our lives and it maintains the speed
This is the deepest, most meaningful, most open and most transparent space of living, sharing and writing!
This is the abyss of living, sharing and writing.
Currently what I write online is definitely level 1 and 2 sharing. What I share in my weekly emails is level 1 & 2 but also it dips into level 3 every now and then.
I definitely share more of my life in my weekly emails than I do ion social media. The problem is levels 1 & 2 are not where I want to write from anymore.
I now want my writing to be between levels 3, 4 and 5.
This doesn’t mean I want to share my innermost thoughts, dreams and challenges with the world but it does mean I want to write about what I find, what I learn about and the changes I make at these deeper levels of living.
To write from levels 3, 4 and 5, I need to access these places in my life which takes much awareness and focus. This level of writing also takes time as it requires deeper thinking and its a big change to how I currently write.
I’m happy to spend time figuring this out and I’m also happy to share this journey with you.
You can join my weekly email where I share thoughts and resources on all things positive change by downloading your free ebook The A-Z of Effective Change below.
💎 What levels do you live at and share your life at?
💎 What’s going on under the surface that you want to explore?
💎 Do you want more depth, meaning, openness and transparency in your life?
Thanks for being here 🙏
Siobhain
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