One idea per day

Life has been moving fast for a while. But isn't it always? This blog needs an update, and life isn't going slow down anytime soon. 

Outside work, I haven't done any real writing in a long time. I journal on and off, for my own sake. When life gets confusing and complex, it's helpful to get ideas out of my head and into reality. Everything seems more manageable.

Yet I rarely share my thoughts. I don't even post on social media anymore. Why?

Music and writing have been my creative and emotional outlets for decades. I've only received praise for my work, and I enjoy starting discussions around topics I find interesting. It's energizing. Why should publishing make me nervous?

My current theory: I fear influence. Anytime I find out my words affected someone, I find an excuse to retreat. It's a pattern I'd like to shatter.

I've been writing songs for twenty years. As an instrumentalist, technician, and producer, I've contributed to countless other people's musical projects. Despite people saying my music has helped them or brought them some new insight, I've never released an album of my own. I worry my lyrics will influence someone in a way that leads to a bad outcome. I don't want my words to do harm. 

When I started blogging a few years ago, it felt great. I set a goal to write at least once per month. After a few posts, I got some positive comments from close friends and family. It started some good conversations and helped give me the perspective to sort through some confusing situations.

Everything was fine until a co-worker told me one of my posts had changed their life for the better. Consciously, I was thrilled. It was the highest praise I could get for something I'd written mainly for myself. And yet, almost immediately, I stopped writing again.

For several years, I've been trying to do more difficult things. It's the best I know to learn and grow. Publishing and sharing my ideas has been high on my list for too long. I've inched toward better habits around this (e.g. my previous attempt to blog), but I need to build more momentum. 

So starting today, I'm going to publish something here every day. I don't think I'm going to apply any strict requirements---just write a few paragraphs about an experience or idea. I'm convinced I can devote at least fifteen minutes per day to writing. Maybe some days will just have one or two sentences. That's fine.

My goal is to form the habit of writing and sharing something every day. Life moves fast. Direction matters.