I have a secret to share in the spirit of radical authenticity: I am a writer. I am not attached to a particular genre of writing, nor am I seeking a career change. All I know is that writing has been the most natural and familiar mode of self-expression and communication since my younger years.

My memory is fuzzy about when I first started to write to process my experiences. No therapist, parent, peer, or progressive teacher recommended that I journal. I came of age in the 1990s before the internet, social media, and all the technological advancements now commonplace in our society. For all I can remember, I learned about journaling from a Judy Blume or Babysitters Club book and then decided to try it myself. I still have the diaries I kept in junior high, and I’ve been writing in a journal ever since. There have been journaling drought seasons due to the background circumstances of my life. Nonetheless, expressive writing has been like a faithful childhood friend I can return to, no matter the time and distance, and pick up right where I left off.

Writing was a big part of my academic life. As an English major, I wrote countless expository and persuasive essays. As a Psychology major, I wrote numerous research methodology and review papers. My first experience in a teaching role was as a Writing Fellow, helping fellow college students improve their writing. Most of the 35 courses I took in graduate school required term papers, and my master’s and Dissertation theses were 79 and 155-page documents, respectively. Given the emphasis on written communication in my chosen fields of study, I am deeply grateful that writing came naturally and with minimal stress. Fortunately, none of my teachers along the way were too dogmatic or rigid regarding grammatical rules. My perfectionistic mind has also never been too hooked on writing technicalities thereby enhancing flow states (as an aside – often reminding myself of the quote “perfection is the enemy of good enough” is one of my tried-and-true hacks to unhook from unworkable perfectionistic tendencies).

How might this act of self-disclosure about my identity as a writer be relevant to your personal growth journeys? It is an example of practicing what I preach to many clients: Despite all the fears, worries, anxieties, heart-pounding, doubts, judgments, and overthinking that my mind and body are throwing at me to convince me NOT to share my writing on public facing platforms, I will do it anyway. This general premise – taking action in one’s life in the service of one’s values and authentic self – will be a common theme in many of my posts. I hope that these posts will inspire readers to take small, workable risks in their lives to help them build more meaningful and fulfilling lives.

QUESTION FOR YOU, DEAR READER: WHAT NEW BEHAVIOR WILL YOU ENGAGE IN TO STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, LIVE BY YOUR VALUES, AND REALIZE YOUR INNATE TALENTS?