The Cure for Brain Fog

Writing. That’s the cure. Yes, taking a cold shower helps. Walking or exercising also helps. But sitting down and writing is the best way to procure clarity.

Writing has three problems, though: Firstly, it is dangerous. Some of our thoughts are safest in the darkness of our minds. However, like a bad tooth, unexamined thoughts can rot and fester into stinking biases. Therefore, dangerous as writing might be, it puts thoughts on the operating table, bare and ready for examination.

Secondly, writing is a skill. Like eating with chopsticks for the first time, grasping our thoughts in the beginning is tricky. But with time, it gets easier. In fact, struggling to put thoughts on paper is the act of thinking. Therefore, struggle and struggle hard. It gets better with time.

Finally, writing only begins when the first draft is complete. Like an archaeologist discovering a pregnant patch of ground, and then combing it carefully to reveal a piece of history, so the first draft is pregnant with ideas, ready to be brought to life. Editing is writing; it is that slow and careful consideration of every word and phrase, the funnel through which the personality squeezes the ether into matter. To paraphrase Charles Bukowski, writing is never complete until that one true sentence is found.

One of my favourite statesmen is Alexander Stubb, the Prime Minister of Finland. Long before I learned about his extensive writing, his clarity and manner of speaking gave it away. Winston Churchill’s pen also proved mightier than bombs. Closer to home, Oliver Tambo, Steve Biko, Robert Sobukwe, and many other leaders waged the liberation struggle with the pen more than any other instrument.

So you see? Writing is not only the cure for brain fog, but likely the best instrument for shaping the future.