Just Do It
Pilot post as a rookie writer.
A couple of weeks ago the idea of starting a blog came up, and like other personal projects, it stays an idea forever. Unless…
Here’s how the process looks like:
1- Revelation
“Maybe I should start blogging”, I told myself. I was excited.
2- Foreplay
I entertained the idea for a while. Daydreaming about how “successful” this will be.
3- Social Support Hunting
I needed encouragement, so I called a few, carefully “handpicked” friends to ask their opinion. I was very biased with who I called, because the last thing I wanted was someone letting me down.
4- Self-doubt
My childhood friend, “The Fear of Failure” shows up
“What If I failed? What if they don’t like my posts? What If I don’t add value? Do I have the skill? I never wrote before. Is writing the right choice for me? English is not my mother tongue! Wait, why am I doing this?”
5- Planning
How should I do it? When should I do it? I created an excel file, with all the potential topics I could talk about. I was planning on writing at least 10 articles offline before publishing anything online.
6- More Planning
Overthinking, which platform to use? Wordpress.com or Medium? What if? What if and What if?
I initially went with Wordpress.com, there’s a backstory here that I don’t want to share because it will distract you from the purpose of this article.
7- Quitting
At this stage, I was so emotionally drained to the point I had to stop.
This is usually how far I get with ideas. I rarely reach execution phase. I knew I had a major procrastination problem. A lot of projects were on-hold, waiting for the “right moment” to surface. Some are pending for 3 years now. I even told myself “I’ll wait till 2017 to solve the problem”, I procrastinated solving my procrastination problem!
With so many people knowing I want to start writing, I felt obligated to follow through, and as usual, I opened 20+ tabs browsing the internet for Blogging tips and How-to’s.
I realized that I am still in the “mental masturbation zone”. In fancy words, its called “Analysis Paralysis”.
That’s when I told myself, and I am glad I did:
“ You know what? I don’t care what happens, I am going to start now”
Here I am, I created this account, and I am writing this pilot article with no filters, no plans, no expectations in mind.
I am done waiting in the shadows, I don’t know if I’ll ever become a better writer, but I give myself permission to try.
