How do you find your voice and then use it?

1. Test

Sometimes finding your voice starts with understanding what it doesn’t sound like.

The first real expressions of my voice were in the form of questions. Testing the boundaries of what you believe, to hear if the voice you’re using rings true to you.

That it is the truest expression of yourself. It is my belief that the quality of a question reveals the wisdom of the questioner. Ask yourself: “What did I believe before that I actually seriously question now?” You might be surprised.

2. Write

Write in your journal. I’ve found writing is a process that clarifies my thinking, taking the airy musings and turning them into something more substantial.

Write down the questions you come up with. I have stacks of journals that show the development of my own personal wisdom, the ways other people’s wisdom has influenced me and most importantly, the way those questions shaped me.

Write things out. It could be in a journal. Or it could even be in an anonymous blog. I know some people who started this way. Under a pseudonym they had the courage to speak openly. Put those thoughts into something that you can go back and look at. It may just help you feel more free.

3. Wait

I sometimes think our truth waits within us like a pressure cooker. It’s just a matter of time that it goes past the point of being contained and blows the…