Write, reflect and be human

I've been particularly busy since I wrote my last column. So as I settle down to write this next instalment, I turned to my diary for inspiration. Once again, I'm astonished at my ability to forget entire chunks of my recent work week. If writing this column has achieved nothing else, it's exposed me to the catharsis that is achievable through taking the time to freely think, write and reflect. Instead of doing this out of obligation, this is done through choice and it feels different.

I have always fancied myself to be an emotionally intelligent person. I routinely sought opportunities to gain feedback and reflect on my personal performance, and I encouraged others to do the same. I know the importance of reflection and have personally gained a lot from it.

I was always less enamoured however about having to write it down. I recognised how thinking and reflecting developed me, but thought there was little to gain from writing about it. It seemed to me that the written bit was really to address someone else's needs: an examiner, a lecturer, a trainer, an HCPC auditor! I've never enjoyed writing, and I have certainly never been a diarist. If a screenwriter ever looked to make a Bridget Jones Diary project of my life, they'd soon realise there is a significant lack of written researchable material. Writing this column though has ignited a new passion for writing—but openly, honestly, without agenda, and definitely without a marking guide or set of standards to achieve with my words. I'd recommend it to anyone; nothing major, just writing down your thoughts about your last few shifts at work.