Ideas Worth Sharing
For the vast majority of my life, I kept my thoughts to myself because I believed that I didn't have anything good to say. My ideas weren't inherently bad; I was scared of getting something wrong and looking stupid.
This insecurity materialized the most when I read through other people's blogs. Their writing was clear and concise, while conveying an insightful point. I wanted to be that person for others, for my writing to leave a positive impact. Despite that yearning, I just couldn't put myself out there. I had nothing worth writing about.
If you want to always be right, you need to always be prepared to change your mind.
I had gotten everything backwards. People don't magically come up with brilliant ideas overnight, sharing them with the world right after. They start off with rough concepts, which get refined over many iterations into a final product. Criticisms of writing aren't a reflection on the author, but rather the content itself. With an open mind, sharing your ideas becomes an indispensable tool for improving the quality of your thinking.
[Revising] should be the art of changing [an] idea itself to be closer to the truth.
By conveying your thoughts, you are forced to realize them. You can no longer get away with a vague notion that you have in your head; it must be concrete enough for others to understand. They will scrutinize every detail, forcing you to fill in the gaps that your mind has glossed over. This will make your thoughts robust, improving clarity not only in others' minds, but in your own as well.
I want to be confident in my own thoughts, proud enough to communicate them to others. So I'm going to write more essays, and make them available publicly. Somewhat paradoxically, I've found it's the only way to develop ideas worth sharing.