Writing
My Resolution
I love writing.
I get immense joy sharing my thoughts or ideas with folks. Hopefully my audience gets a bit of entertainment or may the occasional though provoking piece of inspiration. Worst case you know when I am slinging my BBQ.
So, my big resolution this year is to write more.
The three things I really like writing about are technology, travel, and BBQ. With the overarching theme of life in general as my notebook to scribble on.
I get asked all the time if I am a technology guy with a BBQ hobby or a BBQ pitmaster with a technology hobby. The thing is, I am both. It is who I am.
If you literally followed me during a typical day, I would most likely be in my office working on some technical project/issue or outside deciding on which cooking vessel to fire up and meditate with.
Those are my Yin and Yang.
Why do I like writing about these topics?
Technology - This is my intellectual, puzzle solving muse. Technology is always changing and improving. My work deals with how our company can cntinue to grow with the technology we create and how we can help partners/customers solve their business challenges with our technology. It is like a big equation or puzzle that I get to work on and solve every day. I love it.
BBQ - This is my Zen. The way I decompress. Moving through the whole process of cook time planning, wood to use, fire management, and patience. Nothing brings people together like food. Look at all of our communal activities - family reunions, weddings, funeral, parties, festivals. The one common thing they have is that they usually involve food. I love creating and teaching craft BBQ to folks.
Travel - Travel I love for several reasons.
Nothing gets you out of your comfort zone like travel. No matter how well you plan.
I value experiences more than anything. Experiencing new people, new food, and new cultures is my jam.
Selfishly, I search out BBQ joints where ever I travel so I can experience another persons interpretation of BBQ. Picking up a few new tips/tricks from the local pitmasters never gets old.
Community
I enjoy building an audience, not just followers, but a genuine community of people I actually enjoy interacting with.
What I love is that the community is a two way street. I’m not just writing out into the void.
I get messages or emails from folks when something I write resonates with them and they want to discuss further or have questions.
I get future travel recommendations from folks that have also been to places I visit.
I get photos of BBQ masterpieces from backyard pitmasters.
I also love getting the “Hey Ed, you have not done ribs in a while and I am jonesing for a fix, can you hook a person up!?”
Damn right I can.
These replies remind me I’m not alone in the grind; they spark new content ideas, and a feeling of “We’re all in this together.”
Mental Health
Writing also helps my mental health. I’m Gen X, so the concept of mental health wasn’t a thing for us growing up. We were too busy inflicting physical trauma on ourselves jumping homemade bike/skateboard ramps, flying off of merry go rounds, and testing the resolve of mothers everywhere by showing up home right as the street lights turned on in the neighborhood.
I now fully embrace the need for working on your mental health. If you read my article about quitting drinking, that was an epic mental health battle that fortunately had a happy ending.
I am not sure what it is, but something about getting things out of my head and on to digital paper helps bring a little order to my internal chaos. OR maybe I am the only one that has 5,000 things running around in their head at any one time.
Across dozens of studies, people who regularly engage in expressive writing show small-to-moderate improvements in mood, stress, and even physical health markers months later
I would actually make the recommendation for you to try writing as well. I can hear you know, “But Ed, I am not a writer”. Well, neither am I. I just stumbled on to the fact that I do like writing, not that I actually know what I am doing. I’m still figuring out my voice here.
You also don’t have to publish anything to the world. You can grab paper and pen or pull up a text file and just write a little bit. Creative writing or personal writing. Sometimes just getting things out in writing is the best therapy or creative outlet you need.
So, I hope you don’t mind hearing from me a bit more this year.
Don’t worry, if you are here just for the BBQ, I got you. Just ignore all my other ramblings.
-Ed
P.S. - Look for the Super Bowl BBQ menu options soon!
Good job 🙌🏼
great read Buddy!