Advancement

There was already a hint of it in my old guideline, that I should write about those things my thoughts keep returning to. My thoughts do keep returning to things. They go around and around in circles, and never seem to get anywhere.

At least, that's what they used to do.

Writing an essay about an idea, I realized, does three things. It advances my understanding of the idea, by forcing me to think it through in detail; it captures the idea, so that my thoughts don't need to return to it; and it provides a good foundation for future thought.

As a result, my thoughts are no longer just going around and around in circles, they are also advancing … sometimes with glacial slowness, it's true, but advancing nonetheless.