A warning about words

I’m a big believer of writing every day. Not much, just 100 words at least. I’m constantly surprised how uncommon the practice of daily writing is, given all it’s benefits to mental health, career, thinking.

But writing words is the easy part.

Or like they say, “Talk is cheap.” Writing here everyday about my goals, my aspirations, my experiments, my struggles, my products, my entrepreneurial journey, and making bold declarations with optimistic conviction here and there, can give the illusion that I’m making real progress. Maybe it does on some days. But most other days, I think not.

It’s easy to write about something I want to do, and get up the next day not thinking about how I should commit to my words, leaving it to wither in the dark dusty corners of the internet.

Not that writing daily about your goals is not useful at all. In fact, I’ll be the last person to say that, especially after having benefited from over two years of daily writing. It’s just that some days, I find I got to be really careful.

About being lulled into a false complacency of progress, when it’s all just words and no action.

If someone could only see my actions and not hear my words, what would they say are my priorities? ~ @JamesClear

Which is why James Clear’s question was such a stark reminder. Imagine someone who’s deaf and cannot communicate with you at all. All he can see are your movements around the house, your actions for your work, the things you do and spend time on. No words, whatsoever.

What would he say are my priorities, just from observing my actions?

If I were to be 100% honest with myself, I can see that my priorities are not always aligned to my words. My goals are one thing, but what I do on a daily basis might not mirror that. Sometimes it’s due to distraction, sometimes laziness. Other times, life happens. It takes me away from being 100% congruent, in word and deed.

If I mercilessly trimmed away every single thing that’s not congruent to my goals and priorities, what would remain, that I should really be doing?

What a reminder.

What a beautiful question. So starkly poignant precisely because it’s a warning about words.

A warning about daily writing.