Chapter 53: The Thinking Trap

There’s a gap between what you think you know and what you actually know.

Most people live their entire lives without realizing how wide that gap is, because they rarely slow down long enough to pressure test their thinking.

A thought can feel sharp, insightful, even profound…right up until the moment you try to put it into words.

That’s when you realize the idea wasn’t as sturdy as it felt in your head.

This doesn’t mean you’re not smart.

It just means you’ve never paused long enough to question what you actually believe.

And this is why writing matters.

Not because the world needs more articles or clever lines, but because writing forces you to examine your beliefs.

If you don’t write, you don’t really know what you believe.

You only repeat what you’ve absorbed.

People assume they understand something because they’ve heard it, felt it, or agreed with it.

But sit them in front of a blank page, ask them to explain it clearly, and the truth comes out:

most of what we think we “know” hasn’t been examined deeply at all.

I’ve lived this firsthand.

For the past 53 weeks, I’ve published these letters…

Roughly 500 words every single Saturday.
Some weeks took five hours.
Some took one.

But, every week required me to understand a topic deeply enough to write about.

I had to confront where my logic was thin, where my opinions were borrowed, and where my “beliefs” cracked under pressure.

Writing hasn’t just helped me communicate better, it’s forced me to think better.

There’s research showing that writing improves comprehension, memory, and critical thinking. But you don’t need studies to understand this.

You’ve felt the difference between a thought that floats in your head and a belief sturdy enough to survive a deep conversation.

Writing is like a mirror.

And most people avoid it for the same reason they avoid mirrors:

they’re afraid of what they’ll see.

Tim Ferriss once said, “I don’t write because I have ideas. I write to find out what I think.”

Writing forces you to pressure-test your thoughts, to examine your beliefs.

The words on the page don’t matter as much as the clarity you gain by putting them there.

In a time when people outsource their opinions to algorithms, when thousands mistake consumption for intelligence, and when AI can produce perfectly structured sentences without thinking a single thought….writing becomes more valuable, not less.

AI can write you a 5,000-word paper, but it cannot give you understanding.

You have to earn that.

And the only way to earn it is to write.

Not for social media, for validation, or to “look smart,” but to clarify your own thoughts, confront what you don’t know yet, and discover the ideas that are actually yours.

If you want to become a better writer, keep it simple:

• Do copy work (physically write out your favorite pieces of writing)

• Read the classics (I’m enjoying Bukowski and Hemingway right now)

• Build a consistent writing habit (even 15–20 minutes a day)

Doing these over an extended period of time will change your life.

You won’t notice the shift immediately.

But slowly, writing will sharpen your mind.

It will reveal the truth.
It will give you direction.
It will help you reclaim your mind in a world that doesn’t want you to think for yourself.

Write to remember.
Write to understand.
Write to figure what you actually believe.

You’ll be happy you did.

—Dodds

P.S. the next cohort of Story30 starts in January. If you want to work with me 1:1 to grow your audience/business using short-form video, you can get on the waitlist here.