The big question is why. If my goal was to be bored, why would I undertake a new and time intensive project like writing a blog? There are a couple of reasons for this.
The first is due to a quick text exchange with one of my extended family. The New Year had just passed, and I had completed a major long-term project. The project is not essential to discuss now, and I will go into it in a later blog post, but it was something that had been on my plate for years. Finishing it right at the beginning of January felt great; I was able to start the New Year with a win. I decided to not-so-humbly brag to a few of my extended family. One of them humored me and called it a “daunting project” and was “an inspiration” to complete. In response, just for giggles, I decided to send a quick summary of my new “life philosophy.” Her response: “That is a thought-provoking ‘life philosophy’ and especially good if you can make it work for you. Thanks for sharing.”
Ding ding ding. Although not in the "let’s-write-a-blog-to-share-my-story" way. I must admit that it would be interesting and exciting to be able to teach and debate this philosophy to anyone who would like to listen. Instead, our short dialogue triggered something deeper.
I feel that if you find yourself teaching something to someone, it’s a sign that you're becoming an expert. While also in the process of explaining it, those actions help you master it too. I don’t feel I have mastery of anything yet, but I think I’ve made a step in the right direction. I might have come across something unique and contrarian to common tips on how to be effective. I wanted to explore this more. And to do that, for my own sake of translating my mind’s random thoughts into coherent sentences, I want to write it down. If I was going to write it down, I might as well post it online in case I’m able to build an audience to establish a dialogue instead of a one-sided monologue.
The repetition of thought was a critical deciding factor. Everyone who has ever worked on self-improvement knows that understanding what is best to do doesn’t always make it easy to do what’s best, especially in the middle of our hectic lives. As mentioned in the first post about the Important vs. Urgent matrix, I know the best place to put my energy was in Important but not Urgent tasks. Knowing that and doing it when there are so many escalations and emergencies and distractions is another story. With all of my best intentions, I try to focus on the most critical tasks, but if left to my own devices, it’s so naturally easy to lose that focus.
If I’m not a master yet at maintaining that focus, then practice, practice more and continue to practice. To facilitate this practicing, I want to read about it, think about it, write about it, and debate about it. This blog is a way for me to practice a craft.
With all of that said, writing a blog is something that has fascinated me for over a decade. I’ve tried starting blogs multiple times throughout the year on a variety of topics. My struggles were always quickly running out of exciting or mind provoking things to say. I never had the confidence that I would have something new and fresh to say for months and years later, so every attempt quickly was shelved. I can’t lie; there is hope that this blog will be long-running and will somehow gain attention. That’s a nice secondary goal.
In the end, if by writing out my thoughts, I can elevate my skills, I’ve won--regardless whether another soul ever reads a word that I write. That is why I decided to write a blog now, even as I’m on my quest to boredom. That, in and of itself, liberates me from all of the unnecessary and intimidating overhead of writing a successful blog both in audience size and monetization strategy.
I am free now to explore, to grow, to master.
(Written 2019.01.03)
The first is due to a quick text exchange with one of my extended family. The New Year had just passed, and I had completed a major long-term project. The project is not essential to discuss now, and I will go into it in a later blog post, but it was something that had been on my plate for years. Finishing it right at the beginning of January felt great; I was able to start the New Year with a win. I decided to not-so-humbly brag to a few of my extended family. One of them humored me and called it a “daunting project” and was “an inspiration” to complete. In response, just for giggles, I decided to send a quick summary of my new “life philosophy.” Her response: “That is a thought-provoking ‘life philosophy’ and especially good if you can make it work for you. Thanks for sharing.”
Ding ding ding. Although not in the "let’s-write-a-blog-to-share-my-story" way. I must admit that it would be interesting and exciting to be able to teach and debate this philosophy to anyone who would like to listen. Instead, our short dialogue triggered something deeper.
I feel that if you find yourself teaching something to someone, it’s a sign that you're becoming an expert. While also in the process of explaining it, those actions help you master it too. I don’t feel I have mastery of anything yet, but I think I’ve made a step in the right direction. I might have come across something unique and contrarian to common tips on how to be effective. I wanted to explore this more. And to do that, for my own sake of translating my mind’s random thoughts into coherent sentences, I want to write it down. If I was going to write it down, I might as well post it online in case I’m able to build an audience to establish a dialogue instead of a one-sided monologue.
The repetition of thought was a critical deciding factor. Everyone who has ever worked on self-improvement knows that understanding what is best to do doesn’t always make it easy to do what’s best, especially in the middle of our hectic lives. As mentioned in the first post about the Important vs. Urgent matrix, I know the best place to put my energy was in Important but not Urgent tasks. Knowing that and doing it when there are so many escalations and emergencies and distractions is another story. With all of my best intentions, I try to focus on the most critical tasks, but if left to my own devices, it’s so naturally easy to lose that focus.
If I’m not a master yet at maintaining that focus, then practice, practice more and continue to practice. To facilitate this practicing, I want to read about it, think about it, write about it, and debate about it. This blog is a way for me to practice a craft.
With all of that said, writing a blog is something that has fascinated me for over a decade. I’ve tried starting blogs multiple times throughout the year on a variety of topics. My struggles were always quickly running out of exciting or mind provoking things to say. I never had the confidence that I would have something new and fresh to say for months and years later, so every attempt quickly was shelved. I can’t lie; there is hope that this blog will be long-running and will somehow gain attention. That’s a nice secondary goal.
In the end, if by writing out my thoughts, I can elevate my skills, I’ve won--regardless whether another soul ever reads a word that I write. That is why I decided to write a blog now, even as I’m on my quest to boredom. That, in and of itself, liberates me from all of the unnecessary and intimidating overhead of writing a successful blog both in audience size and monetization strategy.
I am free now to explore, to grow, to master.
(Written 2019.01.03)
