Writing to Filter Weak Ideas

A year ago, I wrote my first post on my website. I had no sense of where it would lead.

I was simply trying to get thoughts out of my head and onto the page. It was not natural, I had to force it out. Why? I still don't understand why at that moment I thought this was something worth doing. Surprising still, I dont know how I stuck with it.

What forcing myself to write and publish has since taught me is that many of my ideas stand tall when they live in my mind, but the moment I articulate them, they went flat.

I’ve killed more thoughts in drafts than I’d like to admit. Because, once I wrote them, they weren’t good enough. Writing applies pressure that thinking alone never did for me. It exposed gaps and contradictions.

Every post I’ve written has ultimately been for me.

To my surprise, I got consulting gigs basis what I wrote, even though I never (and still don’t) write with that objective.

Publishing wasn’t for validation or reach. It untangled thoughts in my head.

The most important change, though, was in the question I ask before hitting publish. I no longer wonder if something is good enough to be seen (This made hitting publish a huge burden for the first few posts). I now ask myself if it is honest.

A year later, I write because I’m willing to sit with a thought long enough to see if it deserves to exist. Most don’t.

Writing has been a great way to weed out weak ideas.