The End

January 15, 2013 by Christopher Tucker | 17 Comments

Stephen Covey taught me to “begin with the end in mind.” When I started writing, the end goal was nothing more than having a creative outlet that would lead me to other modes of creative activity. But if you want to achieve a goal, you actually have to move in the direction of that goal. That statement seems painfully obvious, but I tend to get into the habit of wishing and waiting. When you’re engaged in something deeply, you make more of those distant connections or vague associations that you wouldn’t have come across during periods of distraction or preoccupation, which for me are frequent and extended.

If the “end,” then, is to become more engaged in creative activities, I have to ask myself, “Have I succeeded? Or have I lost focus of the end goal?” When I created the blog, I thought, “I should really write a few ideas and save them, then start to publish them on a schedule; you know, to have a buffer.” But when I first put my thoughts and feelings into a piece of writing, it felt too timely and personal to let it sit around twiddling its thumbs in cyberspace. Nope, I had to hit that Publish button. And then the pressure was on. How frequently should I publish? What should I publish next?

And just like that, the focus shifted to publishing, not writing, not a personal creative outlet.

So without any pomp, without countless re-reads and several revisions, without searching for the perfect royalty-free image to compliment the text, I am writing this post. I am writing with no promise of future posts, with no “big plans” for the blog, and with no potential reader in mind. I am writing because I can, and because it feels good.

Huzzah.

And yes, I hit the Publish button.

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