Thinking
Being an introverted melancholy, most of my thinking is done internally. Unfortunately, having so much information to process (I notice a lot of details and am very curious.) gives me a lot to think about. Writing is important to me because it helps me think. The more I write, the better I become socially since I’ve essentially thought through much of what’s going on already anyway. The struggle then comes with the spontaneous that happens in life. I’m not so good at those situations. But, I do turn those into therapy sessions (see next heading), so all is not lost when I mess up socially, which unfortunately a lot.
Therapy
Because of my personality and temperament, I don’t just dislike social situations. I avoid them. (My husband is an extravert, so this is sometimes a bone of contention between us.) Writing allows me to analyze social situations after they happen in hopes of learning from them and being better the next time. I may be slowly improving socially (not certain of that), but I know for sure that I feel better about myself after my therapy sessions.
This therapy happens in two man ways. First, I write in a prayer journal daily. God gets to hear pretty much everything, and it’s a great way to start the day. I get everything out and attempt to find a focus for the day. Second, I write about a lot of different topics. While many writers struggle with finding enough topics to write about, I struggle with having too many. Which one do I focus on next? Should this be a series? What if I forget about this one? Will anyone really care about what I have to say? I don’t always have the answers to these questions, but my writing therapy at least helps me feel like I’m doing something about it. I get the ideas out of my head and into a visible form. (If you think of an extraverted sanguine and how much activity is visibly going on externally, you can get an idea of how much is going on internally for me.) There are just so many voices, thoughts, ideas, etc. going on in my head that I have to use writing as therapy, before I develop a permanent mental disorder. (I wish I were joking, but that’s exactly what it feels like is happening at times.)
How would better writing skills change my business or my life?
My writing skills are pretty decent already. However, I feel like there are some illusive somethings out there keeping it from being great… impactful, in fact. I consider my writing decent because, in comparison to most people’s, it really is quite good. My grammar is pretty good, and I can organize my thoughts well on paper. However, I hate that I consider my writing good simply because of the way it compares to that of others. Why can’t it be good in and of itself? Why do I always have to compare myself in order to feel good about myself? (See, I told you I needed therapy.) Better writing skills would give me more confidence in my ideas, would help me to better develop my voice and would help me develop better focus as I find more techniques that help me make progress.
Also, I also feel like I constantly write as if I’m writing a paper for an English class. I was an English major in college, and I even taught developmental writing and Freshman English at our local community college. So, the “right” format is stuck in my brain, and I can’t seem to break out of it. Sure, there are bursts where I streak out, but then I always get caught and put my “correctness” back on.
My goal is to do more ghostwriting as well as to have my blog be somewhat popular (always wanted to be popular), but I feel like I’m stuck in a writing rut. I feel like I need to take the foundation that I have and build on it somehow. But like the illusive somethings I mentioned above, that somehow is also evading my grasp.
NOTE: This blog post is outside of my usual blogging routine as explained in the About section. Why would an anal melancholy like me go outside her routine? The writing contest at www.damnfinewords.com has challenged me with the above questions, and I’m always up for a challenge. Reminds me of having a writing assignment back in my college days. Turns out I thrive under deadlines like these. Got any more?
I'm going to look into the "Personality Plus" material by Florence Littauer. I think it will help me make sense of a lot of things. And keep on being yourself, because you're brilliant and talented and wonderful exactly as you are! 
