Recently, I've devoted a lot of time and energy to "mentoring" someone at work. She's had trouble adjusting to our unusual company culture, and comes to me daily for help in deciphering the projects she's assigned and advice on how to be more productive. The most important point I've tried to make to her is that if you put off starting something until you have all the information you need, you'll never start. Sometimes you have to just dive in, start swimming, and figure out your direction as you go along.
I woke up this morning and realized I haven't been taking my own advice.
The idea behind this blog was for me to write about things as they come to me, exploring ideas, making connections and figuring things out as I go. I haven't been doing that. I've jotted down many ideas of topics I want to write about, but I haven't actually written anything. I've been waiting to be inspired by that "perfect" idea, an essay that writes itself. That may happen sometimes, but I shouldn't sit around and wait for it.
I don't want my writings here to be just a glorified journal of my own feelings - I'm trying to broaden my view of the world and contribute something meaningful, even if I don't know what that is yet.
I have ideas. They need to be explored.
It is September...my time for making New Year's resolutions. (I suppose that comes from the notion of starting each new school year fresh, creating new habits for greater academic success.)
I will not resolve to write here every day - that is not my goal. Instead, I resolve to define some long-term goals for myself - things I want to learn about, places I want to go, things I want to create. And I resolve to spend some time each day working toward at least one of them.
Update (September 6, 2018):
I wrote this post a year ago, and then never posted on this blog again. I've been gathering notes and half-writing posts, never finishing any of them to my perfectionist standards. That ends today. Another September, another resolution. I'll frame it a little differently this time.
