Writing is hard. Starting is harder.
The unknowns of writing make starting the most difficult part. Everything after that is easy.
Someone I speak with regularly recently posted on LinkedIn about their career experiences. Unsurprisingly, it took off like a rocket.
It was relatable, insightful, and helpful for others going through a similar journey.
Like many, their common concern was if anyone cared and if they had anything important to say. That question has been answered.
I went through, and still go through, many of those internal thoughts. and I've come to three conclusions that keep me writing:
Disregard comfort. I always question if anyone cares, what people really say about my writing when I'm not in the room, and if my ideas are any good. The answer is, who cares? We can't get better if we don't keep practicing, and to keep practicing in public, you must disregard comfort.
When criticized for his famously uncomfortable shoes, Christian Louboutin handled criticism by comparing his goals to those of others:
I don’t want to create painful shoes, but it is not my job to create something comfortable. I try to make high heels as comfortable as they can be, but my priority is design, beauty, and sexiness.
There's no such thing as new information, but your information may be new to others. Almost nothing I write here is original; others' writing or books inspire it, and I'm putting concepts together. It took me a long time to realize that's okay, and it doesn't mean readers won't see it for the first time.
Your work must be meaningful to you before it's meaningful to others. It will show if you don't care what you're writing about. Whatever you're trying to say, say it with fire in your chest. Don't bend, don't water it down, don't edit your soul. Follow your passion. This is why my writing skips around from time to time.
Today marks the end of my second week of writing every day. Before that, I wrote ~weekly for a year. I can unequivocally say I am getting better.
My thoughts are more precise. My mind connects concepts more quickly. My writing is more active and concise. The first few posts took an hour or more; I can now finish them in less than 30 minutes.
As Allen Iverson famously said, the reason is "we talkin' about practice."