Overcoming Self-Censorship

Chris J Wilson:

I’ve struggled with…well, a lot recently. I suspect that the general malaise has been one of the key reasons that I haven’t been able to write or publish anything longer than a tweet-length post for a while. […] But the other factor is a feeling that I have nothing worth saying. I know that this is partially a lack of inspiration (as Austin Kleon says, problems of output are usually problems of input) but it’s also caused by a growing self-censorship.

I’ve had similar struggles of late. As a result, I’ve prioritized my well-being and essential tasks above ‘getting things done’ where I’ve felt it necessary.

It would be easy to complain about How Things Are, but it wouldn’t help me in any meaningful way. And I’m purposefully restricting how much attention I give to the news because that only serves to raise my blood pressure and make me despair even more.

The only way out is to act bravely and publish anyway, slowly building confidence and a sense of what is good to publish. So this is the first, probably terrible, step.

One of the benefits of posting my thoughts here, rather than on a social network, is that if people are going to get in my face in the comments, I have control over that. Of course, that doesn’t stop them from posting their screed elsewhere, but by the same token I’m not obliged to read it.