Editing is important in life
What you’re reading now is not what I originally wrote for this column. It has been edited in two ways.
First, it has been edited by me many times while writing it. I often scrap an entire idea within the column. Sometimes I not only change the wording in a sentence but will move paragraphs around.
This is easy with my computer. But I didn’t have a computer when I began this column in 1979. I used a typewriter. To make a change, I had to type the whole thing over again. So, back then I hesitated about changing things I now change without thinking.
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Second, the column is edited by newspaper staff after I turn it in, mainly for grammar, spelling and general composition. But it’s also edited for clarity and sometimes is cut to squeeze into available space.
Recognize and make use of those two types of editing in your life.
Take a look at your behavior, beliefs or feelings and make changes when you are creating problems for yourself or others. It’s hard to make changes, just as it’s hard for a writer to tear apart what he or she has just written. But editing is needed if there is going to be growth and improvement. If we don’t make necessary changes, problems just continue or get worse.
Take time away
When I need to change my column, I often leave it alone for a while and come back to it later. This way I’m not so defensive about the need for change. When we get defensive and stubborn about necessary changes in life, we also need to take time off, often called a time-out. It allows us to get away, but not run away, from a stressful situation.
But that’s often not enough. We may need to talk with someone who can be objective and neutral. Pastors, counsellors, elders or sponsors can serve the same function for you as my editor does for me as a writer. It’s easy to get defensive and angry if someone tells you things you don’t like. When I began this column, I didn’t like having my work edited. But that’s the way the system works. I had to learn to accept it. And once I stopped being upset about how my columns were changed, something interesting happened. I learned to write better columns by observing why changes were made. I also learned my editor was just doing her job, and the changes made were editorial critiques, not personal criticism.
Find a person you trust and be willing to listen to their editorial comments about yourself. You may not like what you hear at times. But if they are considerate and honest and you risk and listen, you will be able to make major improvements in your life.
This column ends up in the recycling bin, or on the floor of a budgie cage, within a week or so. You have a much longer life cycle. Why not become your own editor? Also, listen to other trusted editors as well. You can only gain and grow.
