Why We Never Start That Blog

I’ve wanted to start a blog for eight years, perhaps even longer. But for some reason, in the back of my mind, it always felt risky and out of reach.

When I ask myself, why is that? Why did it feel that way? I think part of me says it was fear of judgment. Fear of reputational damage. And perhaps the biggest fear was simply being ignored. Not feeling like my writing was worth listening to in the first place and having to reckon with that.

I don’t think I’m the only person afraid to face the possibility that what I have to say might be mediocre and trite. I think most of us assume, until proven otherwise, that this is likely the case.

Even though, in our hearts, we feel like we have things to say. Things that are worth listening to.

Many of us say more than necessary to our friends and family just because we have this feeling of, “Hey, I have something to say.”

And the truth is that, yes, most of us do. We should say it. We should put it out there.

We should filter our thoughts, sure, so we aren’t wasting other people’s time. But we also shouldn’t set the bar so high that we never say anything at all.

I’ve now started writing and publishing my thoughts here on this website because I realized that the value of creating had become greater than the fear of what might happen if I did.

The possibility that all those fears might come true no longer feels as bad as not trying at all and not getting my words out there in a place I can be proud of.

What I have now is a newfound perspective: what I gain from doing this matters more than whatever the fear was protecting.

Giving My Words a Home

One thing that helped push me over the edge was creating a website I’m proud of. A website that excites me and makes me feel like I have a unique home on the web.

It’s something that speaks to my soul. A place that represents who I am and what I value.

Even if it’s somewhat silly and overdone, it gives me confidence to know that my words have a home that helps bring them to life.

With all the different components I’ve built for this website from scratch, I feel like the site has put some wind in my sails.

What I gain from doing this matters more than whatever the fear was protecting.

There comes a point where you jump the shark. You know you’ve done enough. You know the site is exciting and fun. You know people will enjoy it. You know you should fill it with your writing. You know you’re close enough to done to be done.

And you know you’re procrastinating.

We’ve all used meticulous perfectionism to avoid shipping our work to real people. Fear takes over, and we let our ego get in the way of what needs to be done. It has to be top of mind that we are not doing that this time. We will not give in to the fear. Pure intention is the only way to avoid avoidance itself.

Would you be embarrassed to show someone how much you’ve overbuilt and how little you’ve published? If yes, stop what you’re doing. Go write an article and publish it. After all, that was the point.

Do what is right. Launch the site. Go help people. Give them something to read. Let them enjoy the site.

You can always add to it later, silly. With software, you’re never really done. But that’s the beauty of it. You can put it out there and make it better as you go.

First, go give it some content.

There’s just something special about having a website where you’ve put in that extra polish. Whether that’s through sounds, special fonts, a unique layout, or custom components.

Having a place on the web that is truly your own gives you this feeling that your words are going to stand out. That they don’t need to be as perfect as you originally thought.

That maybe, with your fancy web design, you won’t feel quite as mediocre as you’re afraid you might be.

Keeping the Bar Low

The most important thing I’ve done for myself is keep the bar low.

I’m not expecting my writing to be at some grandmaster level. This can just be a place where a unique person has unique things to say.

Maybe I won’t always say them in the perfect way, but I’ll say them nonetheless.

That makes it easier for me to get started and begin building this skill, just like any other I’ve built in my life.

Little by little, day by day, it gets better and better.

So Why Don’t More People Do It?

I think most people wish they could do this, and yet many of them will not.

Even though, when you really think about it, it’s not that hard, especially in 2026. AI can help you build a website in literally a day. If you want to get fancy with it like I have, maybe a few days.

But what really stops people from getting started?

Well, in my opinion, it’s many of the things I’ve already talked about: fear of judgment, fear of reputational damage, maybe not identifying as a writer, or feeling as though you have no right to be a writer.

There’s the fear of failure and, potentially, even the fear of success.

All of these fears haunt us. And they’re what we have to overcome if we want to put our words out there and have someone read them.

The Weird Fear of Success

It sounds crazy when you write it down, but for a lot of us, the fear of success, even success that may never come, is always somewhere behind us, looking over our shoulders.

What happens if I do find success?

Is writing going to take attention away from my other passions and the main focuses in my life, like software, building apps, and design?

Am I going to feel pressure to continually produce interesting work, even when inspiration isn’t there? Am I going to hit writer’s block and no longer know what to say or why I’m even saying it?

Maybe having a large audience will make me feel like my every thought is being watched and judged, putting me in some sort of strange fishbowl.

Maybe I’ll enter the realm of accomplished writers and meet people who seem more articulate or more interesting than me. People who make me feel lesser and force me to deal with the possibility that they might truly be better than I am.

These fears feel much more real than rejection or embarrassment.

Because when either of those happens, most people eventually forget. And you can always pat yourself on the back and say, “Hey, at least I tried.”

They’ll forget, so who cares?

But when you find success, all of a sudden you have a whole new list of problems. Problems that may be much deeper and potentially scarier than failure itself.

Trusting My Future Self

If you’re dealing with thoughts like these, the way I handle them is by assuming that the person who will face those problems will have evolved enough to handle them.

It’s about trusting yourself. Trusting your future self to take on bigger and bigger things.

After all, many of the challenges you face every day as an adult would have been terrifying when you were a child.

So I try to assume that my future self will be much stronger, much smarter, and much wiser than I could ever imagine.

It’s interesting how quickly we can evolve and learn to handle situations we wouldn’t even consider today.

The Website Was the Push

Like I said earlier, the thing that finally pushed me to say, “Okay, enough is enough. I want to do this. I want to start writing. I’m excited about this. This is something that could enhance my life, brighten my life, and potentially bring new people into it,” was, funny enough, the website’s design itself.

Creating experiences that feel different for my users, and in this case my readers, is something very dear to my heart.

That means sprinkling in things like highlighted-text pop-ups, short asides that you can click on and read through or just skip over, GIFs, and sounds that make the site feel special in its own weird way.

Something that breaks up the monotony of all the websites you’ve visited before.

Something that catches your attention and makes you think, “Hey, someone did something new. Someone took a little risk and tried a different kind of blog.”

It isn’t just another template. It’s a truly unique experience.

Most people won’t notice it or even care, but I notice it. I care. And it excites me.

It makes the website feel like a creative sanctuary. Somewhere I can keep my new relics, even if they’re just silly writings from a guy at midnight.

It’s something I recommend: create a website that speaks to you. One you’re proud to put your name on. Give it the color scheme you want, the font choices you want, and the quirky menu you want.

It’s fairly easy to do now.

And if it helps push you over the edge and makes you want to fill the site with writing because you finally have a home for it, then, hey, that’s enough.

Anything that gets you to take that step is worth it. For me, the website has definitely been a nice push.

Most people won’t notice it or even care, but I notice it. I care. And it excites me.

Say It With Your Chest

Here’s the thing. I think we all have so much to say, and fear is a deadly drug.

It’s something you may not even be honest with yourself about, which is the first step.

Admit that you’re afraid.

Afraid of all the things I’ve talked about. People not caring. People caring too much. And everything in between.

But none of that really matters when you try this thought experiment:

You make it to 80 years old. You look back at your website and see thousands of articles and thousands of posts, many of which you cherish.

And you say, “Wow, I really did that. I really wrote that. How cool is that?”

I’ll have that forever. People could potentially still be reading it thousands of years from now, if I’m lucky.

And if not, whoop-de-doo. I still had fun doing it.

That’s the thing: lean into the fun. Lean into the fact that nothing really matters, but at the same time, everything matters.

Your writing could change people’s lives.

It may not, but it might. You just never know. And you have to put it out there if you have any interest in having an effect on the world.

There are people who do and people who don’t. I have to say that I’m personally more thankful for the people who do.

I’m saddened by the ones who didn’t. The ones who could have put something out that I would have enjoyed.

It really is a shame when you think about it.

nothing really matters, but at the same time, everything matters.

So I hope you consider putting something out yourself. Show the world what you think.

Say it with your chest.

But most importantly, like I said, have some fun with it, damn it.