Why I really write

Today, someone asked why I write daily.

I explained that I wanted to contribute a consistent stream of ideas and thoughts that provoke reflection, that help people look at things in new ways. I wanted to offer a kind of value that sits side by side with the endless entertainment we already enjoy online.

I referenced how, in my early days on Twitter, I always looked forward to tweets from Subomi Plumptre. While everybody else made you laugh or shared a new information, her tweets always made you think, a little more, a little deeper. After years of observing, reflecting, and creating, I wanted to do something like that: create a steady habit of nudging thought a little further, a little deeper.

Seth Godin was another inspiration, with those short, daily pieces on his blog that do the same — make you think a little more, a little deeper. I want to do the same. I want to have a similar impact on the quality of thought out there.

And all of that is true. But it’s not the main reason I write.

I write because it clears my head and helps me think better.

All the reasons above explain why I publish what I write.

Not why I write in the first place.