10 Reasons to Write About your Life

By Jerry Waxler

“Watch your, step.” I was wearing a yellow slicker, standing on the wooden stairs under Niagara Falls. Holding my mom’s hand, I felt the cool mist on my face that shattered the sunlight into a million rainbows. But that was years ago, and this is now, so what’s the value of recording my memories on paper? Actually, over the years I have discovered many reasons. Here are my top dozen.

1) Draw from the repository of positive experience

During the course of our lives, we experience all sorts of valuable emotions; courage under fire, emotional resilience, and pleasure beyond measure. By recollecting those moments, we draw emotions into the present, to give us joy and courage today.

2) Make sense of who I am

After all these years, I ought to know who I am, but when I feel moody or confused, I wish for more insight. Organizing myself into a story has a calming effect, helping make sense of who I am and why I’m here.

3) Create intimacy

When I try to tell people who I am, the quickest way is through stories. Stories give people a glimpse they can relate to. What I did last week, last year, or a few decades ago creates a shared moment that draws people in.

4) Leave a legacy

Each of us sees only our own particular segment of reality. But our vision is extended every time we see the world through other people’s eyes. Now, by telling our story, we can offer other people our side of life.

5) Peer inside

It’s relatively easy to remember external events, like where we lived or worked, or where we went on vacations. But behind the events are powerful forces – our beliefs, dreams, and feelings. Until we understand these forces, the external events may not seem to make much sense. Writing memories shines a spotlight on the interior of our own character, and makes our understanding of our inner life more complete.

6) Teach

Stories are great teaching tools, because once inside the story, the audience is all yours. For example, by letting the reader walk with me into the spray under Niagara Falls I could explain the refraction of sunlight in mist, or the importance of reducing pollution in rivers, or tout the wonders of family vacations. I could even point out the value of memoir writing.

7) Entertain

I don’t know why we love to hear about each other so much, but we do it so much I think it must be some sort of primal urge. Other people fulfill our urge by telling us their stories, and we can return the favor by telling them ours.

8) Reclaim your journey

We lived. We created. And then, memories fade until this ancient history might seem like it belongs to someone else. We can reclaim our journey by converting mental snapshots into lively scenes, populated with real people, motivated by our dreams, made vivid by the spectrum of our emotions. These stories flesh in the person we have been, and continue to be.

9) Creative satisfaction

Writing is a wonderful hobby. It develops skills, and exercises mental and creative “muscles.” As your writing develops, you cross over from craft to puzzle solving to art, tapping into the inner wellspring of sublime satisfactions.

10) Tell the story of your future

By developing the knack of telling story about the past, you can learn to tell the story about your future. Don’t stop telling the story. Keep it going into a story you would like to tell about yourself tomorrow and next year. Where are you going? Tell me your story.

That boy under Niagara Falls enjoyed his day, without having any idea about what was coming next. And then, day after day, more experiences added up. The sequence of events continues, but it’s up to me to find the story. By weaving together days, seasons, and years, I become a richer person. And to do all this, I don’t need to be an expert. I just need to sit down at a desk with a pad or computer and put together recollections. And as I do so, day after day, my recollections add up to the story of my journey through life.

Last modified:
3/18/2007